Some Princes Don't Become Kings
by Ultimatum44
Summary: Follow Kopa, the son of Simba and Nala, as he learns important life lessons that could either save him one day, or end up getting him killed. Kopa is lost somewhere in the African Savannah, but unlike his father, he has nobody to guide him. Read as he progresses through several difficult challenges as he fights for both his life, and his rights to go home.
1. Rough beginnings

Present day:

The nights were often cold and wet. Both harsh and unforgiving. Every mistake, no matter big nor small, meant severe consequences for the young Kopa. He didnt deserve to be in this situation, as a matter of fact he deserved much more. He was hardworking, respectful, and kind. He was remorseful and empathetic, always giving back to those who once gave to him. But his most striking trait, the trait that defined who he was, is how helpful we was, and wanted to be. His name, **Kopa** , even translates to _Hearts_. He helped others not for the praise nor the attention, but because he knew it was one of the only things that made him truly happy. Despite his personality, his forgiving and loving personality, here he was. Days away from home, with no sense of direction. Freezing from the rigid river water and the cold nightly breeze. He tried to get up, just to see if his legs could still carry his small, strong body. But he couldn't. He hit the ground just as fast as he stood up. Well... tried to stand up.

" _Please..."_ He managed to croack through is heart breaking and painful sobs. His voice was thrashed from hours of screaming and inhaltion of large amounts of the river water. Not to mention how exauhested he was, he has been lost for almost a week. His last meal was 3 days ago, and the effects of fatigue and sickness had quickly set in. " _Dad... Mom... Please find me. please find me..._ " he cried. The cub would be balling his eyes out if it werent for the fact that he barley had enough energy to remember how to breathe. " _Im ok.."_ He struggled " _Im ok.. please just dont give up... Please dont stop looking"_ He wished that they could hear his cries, that anybody could hear him. But deep down inside he knew he was alone. For once in his life he truly felt alone. the feeling was disgusting, painful, and heart breaking.

He curled into ball, shivering and crying. He rolled around in the dirt to try and dry himself, it wasnt much help but it was something. This helped him to stop crying. It was a very minor victory, but it was a victory none the less. As his sobbing subsided for a bit, he smilled knowing that everyrhing would be ok. He would close his eyes, and his Mom, Dad, brother and aister would be there the next morning teasing him anout how he got lost" _It's going to be ok... I'm alright. All I have to do is wait."_ And with that, he closed his eyes and fell to sleep.

To his dismay, his family didn't come. The cub slowly woke up, it was obvious he didnt sleep at all last night. However something was off. Everything felt warmer, and looked brighter. Thats when it clicked. Usually he slept till the sun had just barley arisen, but today the giant yellow sun was in the middle of the big, clear blue sky. " _Had I slept till noon?!"_ Kopa was shocked, the only other times he had slept this long was when he was sick or if one of his siblings had kept him up all night. However, Kopa quickly disreaguarded this. He was just happy that he was no longer wet and cold. Now, he just felt hungry.

But he had never felt hunger like this before. Usually his stomach just felt as if it were empty, and he felt lighter, but this? This was unbearable. This... was a new sensation. An agonizing combination of stress and pain with the addition of naussea and fatigue. He needed to find sustenance, and quick. He knew he wasn't gonna find any hippo or zebra laying around out here, heck not even a gazelle. He wasnt hold enought to hunt prey of that size. Maybe he could catch a small field mouse. But in all honesty, he didn't care. His father told him stories of how he had to eat grubs and bugs when he was growing up, and that he eventually found the taste of them quite pleasing. Allthough Kopa was not to found of this idea, he knew it was his only safe bet for finding food. Bugs are plentiful on the savannah, and they require little energy to catch he thought to himself. " _Good"_ he said aloud, he didn't have the energy to catch anything much bigger than a field mouse right now. Much to his suprise finding grub proved to be a rather easier task, as he spent many days with his fathers friends Timon and Pumba. They taught him all the tricks to find the "right insects". Slimmy or Crunchy. You learn a couple of things when it comes to those two

It took him a very long time to stand up. It was very apparent that the lack of food was getting to him. The pain in his stomach was killing him, and everystep he took only made thing worse. But he had to persevere. It was either that or suffer and die out here alone. It wasnt long before the young prince found a nest of rather large beetles. Without hesitation, he dug in. It was a new sensation, eating bugs that is. They have a very specific taste, and a very diffrent consistancy. But Kopa paid flavor and texture very little attention. Every beetle that he downed made his hunger slowly go away. He could feel his stomach slowly being filled, and his energy was quickly coming back

He continued this process of finding and consuming bugs until his hunger faded. Finally. Almost a week of suffering and Kopa began to feel like himself again. He finally felt sastified again. He just wanted to run and jump, to play with someone! But along with that came two problems. For one, there was nobody else out here to olay with. Secondly, running and jumping would burn up his new found energy.

 _"Uuhhgg"_ He groaned. He was so bored and lonely. He knew he couldnt just walk off and explore, what if somone was looking for him? What if they looked in that very spot, but now he was gone? The thought of spending another minute out here by himself only made him more and more frusturated.

 _"hEheeHeheHeHe!"_ someone laughed. The noise sent ice through the young lions viens. Kopa shot up and tunred towards the noise. His ears perked up, listening intently. In the back of his mind he prayed that **_it_** wasn't what he was thinking of. But deep down, he knew exactly what **_it_** was.

" _HehahehahehehHhehaa!!"._ The laugh was more violent and more malicous this time. " _No it cant be them. They were exiled to the outlands, there is no way they would be all the way out here"_ Kopa said to himself. He crept cautiosly to the noise and confirmed his suspicion. " _Hyenas" he said to himself_

He was ready to run out of there. His father told him all the nasty things the hyenas have done, and that if he were ever to see a one that he was to immediately run away and tell his father. There was only one problem. He still couldn't run, and if he could, where would he go? Home? He doesnt even know wich way _Home_ is. So he sat there and prayed they would just go away. He watched them intently.

Thats when he realized that these hyenas in specific were just pups. The male was definatley older than himself, but the female hyena looked to be about his age. But, he's never met a hyena before, so he could be totally wrong. They weren't hunting or tormenting a small deffensless animal. They were playing. Chasing each other around and wrestling. They were having fun. Kopa never thought this to be possible. Hyenas are ruthless, vile creatures, but out here... they acted diffrent. The two pups played like lion cubs.

 _"Pinned ya again!"_ the younger female hyena said, sitting on top of her older brother. " _No fair, I wasnt ready! You pushed me when I wasnt even looking!"_ the older pup cried

Kopa couldnt help but giggle quietly. Theres no way these guys are hyenas he thought. They act so much diffrent then the way his father had described them. Out here, they acted no diffrent than the cubs back in his pride!

Just as the thought came to him, the ledge he was standing began to shake. He could feel the lose dirt slide out and crumble from underneath him. He felt himself falling. And of course, he fell right in front of the two hyenas. " _Great, my luck_ " he said. They looked at him, and slowly crept towards him growlimg with there sharp rigid teeth bared. Kopa backed up against the mound he had just fallen from. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.


	2. Pride Rock-Part 1

**_Pride_** ** _Rock-part 1_**

 **3** **Days before Kopa's Disappearance.**

A cool breeze whisped through the air as Simba and his family woke up from a goodnights rest.

Last night was the Great Festival in the Pride lands. A full day were all animals who live in the pride lands gather for a day of peace and fun.

Kopa's siblings Kiara and Kion were never to thrilled at the festival, they never thouhgt it was all that fun. The only parts they enjoyed was meeting new friends for a full day. But Kopa, this was his favorite day in the entire year. He got to see every animal on the savanah. He got to see the peace between them and see how animals of diffrent species, predator and prey, interacted with one another. He really did enjoy it.

Kopa walked out of the den with a wide grin, and sat next to his father.

 _"ahh"_ Simba yawned. "Haha, hey koko".

 _"Dad!"_ Kopa hated when his family used his nickname, it made him feel like he was only a couple of months old.

" _Did you have fun yesterday? I know this is your favorite time of year. You dont ask for alot, so I thought that I should try to make your favorite day a little more interesting letting you have some alone time with 'you know who' "_ Simba said.

Kopa blushed. He knew exactly who his dad was talking about. Vitani. They had a crush on eachother, everyone in pride rock knew about it. Kopa just didn't like talking about it. The "topic" of crushes made him nervous.

" _Well..I..uh..Yea..I mean..uh..shes really cool..and pretty nice. And funny!"_ Kopa stumbled, trying to keep his posture.

He laughed as he grabbed his son and pulled him into a hug. " _You really do like this girl don't you?"_

 _"Y..yes."_ he said. "A _ll the girls say she has a crush on me, but.. I dont know."_ he struggled

" _Follow your heart_ " he said. " _I've learned that when it comes to these types of things, only YOU can decide whats best for you. If you think you like her, go for her"._ He said

 _"Haha I love you dad"_ Kopa said before running off.

" _I love you too son"_ he said.

Nala walked out of the den and sat next to Simba as she watched her leave.

" _He's so much like you."_ Simba said.

" _Hmmm, how so_?" Nala asked

" _Where do I start? The fact that he is loving and caring like you, or that the only physical trait he has from my side is his red tuft?"_ Simba replied

Nala laughed at this. " _He's perfect isn't he". "Our little Kopa"_ She said as she nuzzled him.

And with that, they watched him run.

 ***On the boarder of the pridelands and the outlands***

Two lions walked back and forth across the boarder. The female stayed on the Pride lands side, while the male stood in the outlands. It was obvious that they were planning something.

The lioness was Zira, the dark king Scar's former fiance. Everyday she thought of him. But the thing he remembered most of all, was his eyes. Other than a scar, he wasn't a very "stand out" type of lion, but once you saw his bright green, keniving eyes, you knew instantly that you bought into more than you barganed for.

" _When is our next move"_ The male interrupted Zira's thoughts. He was a rather big and stocky lion, obviously capable of himself. However, he was just a rouge, he had no one else to call his friends or family.

 _"Patience. Until the other lioness have set his path, we will wait."_ She replied.

" _I thought we were going to kill him."_ he questioned.

" _No! You haven't been listening."_ she nearly shouted. Unlike Scar, Zira didn't have the heart to kill a child, especially after what she went through as a cub.

 _"We have to make it look like the prince got hinself lost, so that we can be the hero's and "save" him from the path we set him on. Simba will think that we saved him, and I can finally gain back the pride's trust!_ She sounded hopeful

" _Of course"_ he replied _. "And, when I help you 'find him' Simba will let me stay?"_

Zira chuckled. " _Only time will tell"._ And with that, she left him there.

She wasn't doing this because she hated Simba. No. She was doing this to prove a point. All the animals in the pridelands hated her for being fianced to Scar. They couldn't trust her anymore. But if she could prove to them that she was still a good lioness, they would surely stop giving her so much hate.

And if evertyhing went according to plan, she would'nt get caught. Kopa would live and return home sade in her arms. Her rouge friend would get to live with her, and the pride would finally accept her.

 **The day Kopa dissapeared**

" _Zira!"_ a lioness yelled, running quickly to catch her. " _We're ready!"_ she said with eagerness and a hint of nervousness.

" _Assemble the lioness. I'll fetch him."_


	3. Pride Rock- Part 2

**_Pride Rock- Part 2_**

 **The Day Kopa Dissapeared**

Zira returned to pride rock and found Kopa playing with his siblings and his uncle Mheetu, Nala's younger brother.

"Hello Mheetu."

"Zira." he said.

Mheetu didn't hate her, but he didn't trust her either. Something was off about her. His time as the the leader of lion guard has made him look at everyone in a whole diffrent way.

" _What do you need."_ the young teen sounded irritated.

" _I wish to speak with the young prince"_ She said bowing politley towards Kopa.

" _Then s_ _tart talking "_ he replied.

 _" Um..I meant alone."_ She sounded nervous. _"It's about a 'special someone'. I believe he knows who I am speaking_ _of"_ she looked at Kopa. It clearly caught is attention

 _"It..its okay Uncle Mheetu. Im sure we won't be long."_ He said to Mheetu, his eyes looked as if they were begging for him to let him go. He knew who she was talking about. Vitani.

 _" Okay. But I want him back here in 30 minutes. If you fail to meet this requirement, you will miss tonight's meal. Do you understand?"_

Mheetu never acted like this. He's the cool, care free guy that tries to get with all the girls. But when when it came to protecting his family, he means nothing but buisness.

" _Of Course"_ said Zira.

The lioness and the prince walked to where Zira planned for him to go missing.

" _So... Does Vitani ever talk about me?"_ Kopa asked. He didnt like that he was talking about his crush, let alone to her mother, but they hadn't really talked at all on their trip. He was just looking for a conversation.

Kopa heard something rustling and snap behind him. Before he could turn around, he was swiped in the side.

The force from the hit sent him flying. He got up and ran, not looking behind once. He could hear the agonizing sounds of his pursuer's paws chasing him. Just by listening to the way at which they hit the ground and the speed that they were doing so, he knew he was clearly out matched.

He looked back for a split second only to see a lion he had never seen before. He was struck again. He tried to stand back up, but before he could he was knocked unconscious. Kopa's vision slowly fadded to black.

Zira caught up to her partner and saw that he had succesfully captured the prince. Perfect.

" _You know what to do now._ " she said.

The rouge picked up the young lion and carried him across the savanah. He knew his journey would be long and lonley, but he had to follow through with the plan. If they found him, he would be killed.

" _Zira_!" someone shouted, obviously very agitated.

' _No._ _We were supposed to be alone, I planned for it. How would anyone know we were all the way out here?_ ' she thought frantically.

" _Zira!"_ she heard again. " _Where is Kopa! You were supposed to be back 20 minutes ago!"_ It was Mheetu. He was furious, especially when he saw no sign of Kopa.

 _"What? Mheetu? How did he know where to find us?"_ She asked herself. " _We left almost an hour ago...Was it our scent?"_ He was a good tracker after all.

After taking a closer look, he saw Kopa in the mouth of the male rouge. As he readied himself to pursue and attack the rouge, Zira clawed Mheetu in the face.

In all honesty it caught him off guard. He never expected a member of his own pride to attack him like that. As he readied himself for battle, four other lioness crept up on him and attacked him. He battled for several minutes, trying his best to escape. Not just for his life, but for Kopa's as well.

Mheetu was very strong and muscular however. He mannaged to slip out of the lioness's grasp and bolted back to pride rock. Mheetu was the leader of the lion guard, he spent many days patrolling the pride lands. Which meant that he knows many of the land's shortcuts.

' _This wasn't supposed to happen_ ' she thought, while becoming very anxious. She couldnt risk for knowlege of today's event to reach Pride rock. She ran full speed to grab her three cubs before Simba found them. She didn't know what would happen to them, but she wasn't going to wait around and find out. She had to get to them first.

But she didnt. Her plan had failed. All hope was lost.

There sat Mheetu, he had beaten her there. He also had extra time to tell the entire pride what had happened. Every single lion and lioness looked at her in disgust. In anger. With no remorse.

She had never seen the king so angry before. For the first time in a long time, she had truly felt fear.

" _Zira. Tell me... Tell me where my son is.. Now!"_ He was crying. Not because he was sad or scared, but because he was furious, so angry that it brought tears to eyes. He sent Mheetu and the guard to search for Kopa. He wanted his son back. He needed his Kopa back.

She remaind silent

"Zira... why?" Cried Nala. "Why did you take my son from me? My baby boy.." she sobbed

She couldn't tell them her plan or that Kopa was okay. It would have only made her seem even more psychotic. " _P_ retend to lose the Prince of Pride Rock to make her seem like a good guy when she returned with him in her arms? No that sounded too selfish.

So she lied.

"I...I did.. I did it for him. I did it for **Scar**..." The entire cave went dead silent.

By then, almost 2 hours had passed, and Mheetu and the lion guard returned with no trace of the rouge or Kopa. Being Kopa's uncle and protector, Mheetu couldn't bare to let Simba decide his own son's fate. The last time he saw the prince was in the mouth of the male lion, and it's not uncommon for rouges to kill the cubs of diffrent prides. So, with a heavy heart, Mheetu declared Prince Kopa: **Dead**

Shock filled the cave. Not even a breath could be heard.However, time passed and the pride decided Zira deserved a punishment worse then death.

They voted: **Exile to the Outlands**.

She was to only take her cubs and the lioness who aided her in this atrocity.

There was no food there. And little water. If they didn't die out there in the first 3 months, they would live a dreadfully long and painful life.

 _"Wait! Please! Just let my cubs stay.. Th..They had nothing to do with this! Please!"_ She begged.

Simba let out a very loud roar that made everyone in the cave jump.

" _You think I care about your cubs right now?! After you doomed my son to his death?! No! Your family will pay for your mistakes. However I am not going to take them from their parents, like Scar...or You.. did"_ The last sentence really touched a nerve for both Simba and Zira.

" _One day, I might let them return. However, that day wont come for a long time. Now, Get. Out"._ He said.

Zira shrunk as she heard those last two words. she grabbed a young Kovu in her mouth and ran away from the pride lands with the rest of her family.

After hours of walking they made it to the Outlands. This was their new home.

" _Mom?"_ She heard her son Nuka cry. _"Why was the king so mad at us?"_ He sounded confused.

" _Was it because I liked Kopa? Did the king not like us because he knew about me and Kopa?"_ She heard here daughter Vitani sob.

It broke Zira's heart to see her children like this.

" _Come here kids"_ Zira set Kovu down and pulled all three of them into a hug. She was crying as well.

" _The King thinks that I hurt Prince Kopa, but he is wrong. Maybe one day he will see that._ " She was half right. She may have planned this, but she never even touched Kopa.

 _"But right now we have eachother. We have our family, and thats all that matters. ...We have to stick together..."_ She ended

Her family spent the rest of the night next to some termite mounds. It would be a long night, but from here the days would only get longer. But now...she truly felt hate for Simba.

 **Three days later**

Kopa woke up, but he was unaware of his location. Some sort of jungle. One he had never seen before.

There was a partial Zebra leg in front of him, and he wasted no time eating away at it. He was so confused. Where was he?

" _Im not going to hurt you."_ He heard, it came from a lion. He recognized who it was. It was the rouge.

Kopa shot up in fear. He backed up and stared at the lion. His whole body was shaking with terror. He was unable to move, and the only sound he could make were short gasps and breathing sounds. He was too stricken with fear. He began to cry.

" _Please... I'm so sorry"_ the rouge began. _"I know your scared of me, but please. I dont want to hurt you. I can help you find your way back home."_ He said _. "I know. What I did was wrong, and I can't do anything to make up for that. But please.. just dont be scared."_

Kopa wasn't listening. He didn't Know who to trust anymore. In this moment he knew one thing. **_"Fight or Flight"._**

He couldn't beat the lion, but he knew that if he ran fast enough he could get away from him. So he ran.

 _"Let him go._ The rouge thought. _I'll only make things worse if I go after him. There's no point in trying to save him. I already doomed him"_ A very strong feeling of guilt and depression set in. He had just set a cub to its own demise.

The lion hung is head and walked in the opposite direction. To where, he did not now. It didnt matter to him anymore

And with that, Kopa ran. Far...Far...Away.

 ** _*QUICK AUTHORS NOTE*_**

Wow, what an end lol! Sorry for a long part 2. I really wanted to end chapter: ** _Pride Rock_** as soon as possible, while also making a good interesting story. Thats why I made it a two part-er. We will continue with Kopa and the Hyenas in Chapter 3 for those who are wondering. Also, I own NONE of the characters in this story. The only one that I could call my own character is the rougue lion. Im not done with him however. I decided to keep him nameless right now, as his story will return in the future (oh no! Suspense!) Stay tuned!


	4. Survival of the Fittest

**_Survival of the Fittest_**

 **Present Day**

Here he is again. About to be attacked by more predators, that he didn't even know, in a place he didn't recognize.

" _heheheh...What do we have here?!"_ The older hyena said venomously and with a hint of enthusiasm.

" _A trespasser"_ The younger pup growled. She wasn't as amused as the other hyena. She clearly knew that they could be in serious trouble. After all they were interacting with a lion.

They slowly crept towards Kopa showing their long sharp teeth, and growling in a deep and sinister tone.

But the younger female hyena quickly stopped moving when she saw just how scared the poor cub was. He was petrified, shaken to the bone and his eyes were so wide open that you could see every detail of his beautiful bright _green_ eyes.

" _What should we do with him uh Asante? We should we eat him!"_ The older male said.

But thats when _Asante,_ the younger female pup, made a decision that would forever change her life, and Kopa's lives.

"L _eave him alone"_ She said.

" _What do you mean leave him alone, Asante? Have you lost your mind!? He's a tresspasser! ...and you know what we do to tresspassers..." _He growled, slowly turning back around to face the horrified lion cub.

 _"I said leave him alone!"_ She barked in a quite angry tone.

" _Can't you see that the poor kid is scared? And look at him, he looks like he' could be sick or hurt!"_ She added

" _Are you ok?"_ she said looking at Kopa

Kopa still didn't trust her. After what happened to him, it had been hard to trust anyone for the past week. Especially a hyena.

 _"Um... hello?_ It was Asante.

Kopa was too distracted on wether or not he should talk to her. His parents always told him to never trust a hyena. But these guys? Well... they didn't seem all that bad.

" _Man, look at what you did to the poor kid"_ She said looking at the older male.

He merely shrugged it off in a puzzled manner. He was confused as to why the lion still hadn't said anything. Let alone at least try to scream for help.

" _...Yea.."_ said Kopa in a weak and barley audible tone. His voice still hurt from his time in the river.

" _Oh thank heavens!"_ she said. _"I thought we scared you to death!"_ she joked.

But Kopa wasn't laughing. Even still he didn't want to trust them.

" _Oh I'm sorry. Where are my manners? My Name is Asan_ te." She began _. "And this idot is my older cousin Janja._ _He can be a real pain sometimes, but he's not so bad once you get to know him."_

Janja scoffed at cousins remark, but quickly turned his attention back to the lion cub.

 _"So where ya from kid?" asked Janja_

Kopa debated whether he should tell them that he was from Pride Rock. What if they were related to the hyeneas that helped Scar during his reign? They surely wouldn't be too fond of him if that was the case. But his parents always told him that if he were lost, to tell those who where trying to help him where he was from.

 _"..Uhm.. Pr...Pride Rock.."_ He swalloed hard after saying that.

Both pups gasped.

However, they both had different opinions on the news.

" _Really?!"_ asked Asante in awe. _"I've always wanted to visit Pride Rock, it sounds so wonderful! The way my grandparents described it was Perfect_ _! How did you end up all the out here!?"_

Kopa chuckled. " _Haha, yea its not that bad a place. And let's just say my journey here is a long story"._ He started to warm up to the pups. He felt like he could actually trust them.

Maybe just maybe... his parents were wrong.

Kopa turned to look at Janja. He looked very angry and disgusted. Janja quickly walked away.

 _"I'm sorry about him. His family used to live at pride rock. I guess they died when they got in a fight with their king."_ She said.

The story already sounded too fimilar to the young prince.

 _"Janja says their king betrayed them when the true king returned. They were killed in a fire, and he wandered all the way back out here. We took him as one of our own when he told us what happened."_

" _Oh"_ Kopa was shocked

Kopa was right. Janja was one of them. A hyena from Scar's reign as king.But from what he was hearing, it sounds like Asante and her family had nothing to do with Scar.

After a long inter-personal debate, he decided that he could trust Asante. But only Asante.

 _"Well, looks like it's just you and me"_ said Asante as she looked around.

" _Wanna tell me how you ended up out here? And why you smell like ya just got done wrestling a hippo?"_ She said as she pinched her nose.

' _Did he really smell that bad_?' he thought as he smelled himself.

Nevertheless, he told her what had happened. He mentioned the rouge and his days wondering the African Savanah.

" _The last couple of days I just kinda wandered around. Every step I took felt like one step closer to home. But yesterday evening, I ran into a very unfriendly group of Rhinos. They chassed me into that River, and I fell in. Luckily I found a log to hold on to. I dont think I'd be here without it."_ He remarked

Leave it to Kopa to end his words on the positive side of things.

 _"Im so sorry. That must have been so scary, being taken from your own home like that. I couldn't even imagine that happening to a child."_ She said whith sympathy.

 _"Yea.. it was. But...It's okay now"_ said he. " _At least I can explain the smell though"._ He joked.

" _Would you like some food? You look pretty hungry"_? she asked politley.

" _Yes please!"_ Kopa said with eagerness.

" _We dont have much around here, but we are thankful for what we can get. I try to give back as much I can, but out here it's kind of difficult."_ She said.

" _No, I completly understand. Thank you_." Kopa acted very mature for his age. It was one of his best qualities.

She was right, after a bit of walking he noticed this place did seem kind of empty. Not like the outlands or the elephant grave yard, This place still had signs of life with the trees and plants. But other than that, there wasn't much.

 _"Here, have some of last night's gazelle._ " she offered.

The two continued talking and dug right in. After they were finished, the two decided to go exploring for a bit and joked around on their little adventure.

Time passed and the two quickly formed a very unique friendship. They spent the next couple of hours laughing and enjoying eachother's company.

It was a rare sight, but it was amazing. Seeing both a Lion and Hyeena interacting like this with one another.

As the night approached, the newly pair of friends walked back to Asante's place laughing.

" _You know what Kopa?"_ she asked after a full day of laughing.

 _"Yes?"_ he said with a smile on his face.

 _"I haven't had this much fun in ages!"_ she beamed.

Kopa agreed with her. The cubs back at his place weren't boring, they just didn't seem as fun as Asante. She just had _That Perasonality._ The only lions that he really enjoyed playing with was his siblings and Mheetu.

His smile quickly fadded and was replaced by a rather very sad frown. His ears drooped has he hung his head.

He missed his family.

 _"What's wrong?"_ He heard his friend ask.

 _"...It's just... I miss my family. They are probably so scared and worried about me... they don't even know where I am."_ He said.

Before he could say anything Asante grabbed him and hugged him.

The shock of her actions almost imeadatley made Kopa feel better.

At first he just sat there, to awestruck to do anything. But after a while he too embraced his friend in a warm and thoughtful hug.

" _Thank you"_ He said as he pulled out of the hug.

 _"Thats what friends are for"_ she replied.

 _"No, thats what Best friends are for!" _Kopa added.

Asante was suprised to see that's how Kopa thought of her. They had only known eachother for a couple hours. But she too agreed. She never had a friend like Kopa before. She loved him. Not romantically, but the way you would love a family member or a close friend... A best friend.

As they approached Asante's den Kopa stopped.

 _"Hey Asante?"_ He began. " _I think I might just stay out here for the night."_

 _"Are you sure? It's alot warmer in the den than it is out here, and I'm sure we have extra space."_ she said

 _"No, it's okay. I've slept outside before, I'll be alright."_ He said. " _It will just be for tonight. Don't you think I should meet the rest of your family before I start sleeping next to them?"_ He joked. In all honesty, Kopa really just didn't want to sleep with a bunch of aniamls be couldnt trust.

 _"Alrighty, but if you get cold feel free to come in"_ She laughed.

" _Good night best friend"_ she said

" _Good night to you too, best friend."_ Kopa said.

They hugged eachother again before partting ways. Although Kopa trusted Asante, he didn't like the idea of someone sneaking up on him in his sleep, so he hid next to a tall, lush tree and slept there for the remainder of the night.

Off in the distance sat a lone hyena. Janja looked on into a pond where he saw his reflection. But when he saw his face, he saw his parents. He too missed his family very much.

 _"Stupid...backstabbing...lions.."_ He said, his voice dripping with hatred. He hit the water as he turned his attention to the deep purple sky. It was littered with many beautiful stars.

" _One day"_ he said.

He didn't know why he said nor what it meant, but he knew it meant something.

Janja was kind hearted, brave, and friendly. But when he saw his parents die... it changed him. His soft personality quickly turned to that of a rough and tough, "trust no one" type.

At one point, he too believed in " _The Circle of Life."_

But after what happened to him, and living out here... he found a new motto. A phrase that he could stick by for the rest of his life. One that wouldn't betray him.

He was going to test Kopa and show him what " _Survival of the Fittest " _really ment out here.


	5. Fox on the Savanah

_**Fox on the Savanah**_

As the sun had risen from a long, quiet night, the animals of the _Grasslands_ had woken from a good nights rest.

Kopa slowly opened his eyes and let out a yawn as he woke up. He had finally gotten some good sleep after a VERY long week . Although he had to sleep outside, he didn't mind. It was so peaceful and warm in the grasslands. If he had actually lived there, he might have become fat and lazy.

He got up, stretched and walked to a nearby watering hole to get a drink. As he approched the small pond he noticed some birds flying over head. A male and a female.

They were in love. He could tell by they way they were flying. The way that the crossed each others paths in the air, the way the stopped to look eachother in the eyes, and the way that matched eachothers chirps and whistles in song.

He couldn't help but think of Vitani.

He thought he would miss his family the most, but the thought of her kept coming back to him. She meant a lot to Kopa. Vitani was one of his first friends growing up. They always did everything together. From playing at the water hole, to exploring, and there personal favorite: Teasing Kopa's younger brother Kion. They were almost inseperable.

It wasn't till recently that they admitted to having _other_ feelings towards eachother. It was the day of the Great Festival when Kopa decided to tell her how he truly felt. He had never been so nervous before, but he was relieved when Vitani said she felt the same way.

" _I love you Kopa"_ He remembered hearing her say. The words were music to his ears.

When Vitani had to leave, she ended the night with kiss. It was both thier first _real_ kiss. Kopa still remembered every detail of it.

However all this thinking made Kopa lose focus on where he was going. As he kept his eyes on the birds, he bumped right into someone he should'nt have.

Janja.

 _"Watch it!"_ he snapped

It made Kopa jump.

 _"Im sorry..I didn't see you there.."_ he tried to say

" _Yea I know. You stupid Pridelanders think you can do whatver you want and go where ever you please. Well news flash buddy. Things are diffrent out here."_ Janja said, getting into Kopa's face. He then turned around and walked away.

 _'What just happend?_ ' thought Kopa.

He knew Janja didn't like Pridelanders, but was he really that prejudice? It puzzled the young lion.

Janja's reaction not only suprised Kopa, but it also made him more nervous. He was supposed to meet the rest of Asante's family today. If he wasn't anxious before, he was now.

He got his drink, and began his walk back to Asante's place. He stopped just short of the den. Looks like Asante and her family were waiting for him.

 _'Better hurry. Dad always says being late is never good for first impressions'_ he thought.

After building up his courage, Kopa finally appraoched them. He stood tall, but not to proudly, he didn't want to look cocky and arogant. He stopped right in front of them, and waited.

" _Well hello there young fella! You must be Kopa. My name is Amani."_ Said Asante's mother with glee. She was glad to meet the lion.

' _wow okay then_ ' he thought. Her reaction suprised Kopa into relief however.

" _Yes Kopa, welcome to the Grasslands"_ said her father. " _My name is Hekima and this is our son Kidogo. We are very pleased to have you."_

 _"Sup."_ said Kidogo the small and young hyena pup, obviously trying to act cool.

 _"Thank you, Its very nice to meet you all of you!"_ said Kopa. He was relieved to see that they didn't hate him. It was quite apparent that they were more excited to meet him then he was to them. Finally, a group of animals that weren't trying to eat or chase him.

 _"I'm sure Asante showed you a little bit of the Grasslands, why dont we give you the grand tour_?" said Amani.

" _We could take you to our family hangout spot!"_ Gasped Kidogo

 _"Umm, Im not so sure about that Kidogo. Some of The Council members might be patrolling around there today. You know what will happen if they see him, especially with us." _Said Hekima. His voice was uneasy and anxious

" _They dont start their patrol till later dont they?_ _If we're back before dusk, I'm sure we will be okay."_ said Amani.

 _"Besides, if its a fight thier looking for, then I'll give them a fight."_ confidence rang with Kidogo's voice.

" _Fine he said. But we can't be long."_ Hekima said.

And with that, they left.

The family showed Kopa thier own watering holes and the many acacia trees growing next to them. They showed him the long green grasses and the lush vegitation and floral growing near the outsides of the Grasslands. All the birds met around the canopy of trees to sing, and the insects were humming their own tunes. But still no sign of any other animals. This place was beautiful, but more so it was peaceful. Kopa loved it.

They continued their adventure, and later presented Kopa with there family hangout spot.

A large hill with short dark green grass. Ontop the hill sat a very large beobab tree that shaded most of the hill. At the bottom of the hill where the land flattened out, two small and shallow streams of water ran parralell to eachother and met in the middle to make one big blue pond. It was perfect.

" _Wow"_ was all Kopa could say. He was too awestruck to say anthing else.

" _Pretty_ cool, eh? I love this place. My family and I only come here for vaction, but me? I want to live here forever." she said " _Its perfect to me"._

As the sun approached the end of its time up in the sky, the family decided it was in there best interest to leave soon if they wanted to make it back before dusk.

Unfortunately, they ran into some unfriendly members of what Hekima called: "The C _ouncil_ ". They tried their best to stay incognito, and hope the aniamls would just ignore them. But they were obviously spotted when one of them called for Hekima.

" _Hekima!"_ one shouted.

' _Oh no_ ' Hekima thought. _"Stay here. I'm sure he just wants to talk"_ he said.

Kopa looked closer to where Hekima was heading, and he saw just who exactly they were up against.

Jackals.

Kopa's remembered exactly how is father described them. Just like fox, they aresly and cunning. Calm and collected. Call them tricksters or "Master manipulaters" if you will. But unlike fox, nothing phased them, and nothing could move them. They weren't that strong or fast, but what they lacked in physicality, they easily made up for in brains. Always coming in with a plan, and with those plan's came multiple contingencies. This made them quite formidable foes. No one made a bet with them that they couldn't keep.

" _Hekima."_ the alpha said, unmoved and glaring at Kopa and the group.

 _"How can I help you Hila?" _Said Hekima nervously.

 _"I need a solution, becuase I see a problem, a major_ _problem. Now, I know how to fix this problem quickly and efficiently, but I dont think you would like that, would you?"_ He asked as he popped his claws from his paw.

 _"Have you forgotten how things work in the Grasslands? It seems that you are in need of a reminder."_ Hila said, walking menacingly towards Kopa, his cold sharp eyes fixed on his postion.

Hekima stepped in between them.

 _"Hila, this isn't what it looks like"._

 _"Oh really now? I have eyes and ears everywhere. I know what everyone is up to, at all times. And from what I hear, you have been giving a lion a tour of our lands. **One** : without the permison of the council and **Two** : Pridelanders of all animals are not allowed here ." _Hila stated, looking right at Kopa. He knew everything.

Simba had once told Kopa how the jackals were exiled before his grandfather Mufasa was born. They managed to trick an entire group of Cheetas and leopards into killing eachother so they could steal everything once they were all dead.

The Jackals moved to the Grasslands and formed " _The Council"_ with some other animalsThey agreed to not step foot in the Pridelands as it would break multiple peace agreements. Resulting in war. Vice Versa with the Grasslands and animals from Pride rock.

 _"Hila, please.The poor boy has been sick, hurt, betrayed, lost, and scared for an entire week. Of course we were gonna help him. Just give us a few mor-"_

 _"No. If they find out he is here, you know what will happen. I will return in the morning to offer you, and him your choices. Choose wisley." _Hila said, as he and his pack walked off.

 _"Come on, lets go home."_ Hekima said sounding defeated.

The walk to the den was long and quite.

 _"What are we going to do about Kopa?"_ Amani asked Hekima. " _We cant just send him out there on his own. When we found him he was hurt and starving."_

" _I...I dont know."_ Hekima said. _"We can figure something out. Just...Get the kids ready for bed."_

As Amani got her children ready for bed, a ball of soft golden fur embraced her in a hug.

" _Im so sorry. I_ _heard Hekima and that Jackal talking. Im sorry. I'm the reason why all this is happening, aren't I?_ " Kopa asked.

" _No no no child! This isn't your fault, you dont need to be sorry about anything_." she said, embracing him. _"Just... try and get some rest, and we can figure this out in the morning. You can sleep with us if you would like."_

 _"Thank you"_ he said.

Kopa sat in the den contemplating on what his fate would be. He felt several emotions. But the most suprising thing was what he didn't feel. Fear.

" _Kopa_?" he heard. It was Asante.

 _"Kopa Im scared. I dont want to lose you, I cant. your my only friend out here. My best friend."_ she was tearing up.

 _" Asante don't be scared. You will always be my best friend. What ever happens, happens. Okay? Now. Lets say you and I go to bed. I'm exhausted."_ He finished trying to sound enthusiastic.

And with that, he closed his eyes. ' _Only time will tell what happens'_ he thought. But Kopa was sick of being afraid.

 ***Far Off***

Hila sat patiently atop a rather large rock staring up at the moon. He was waiting for someone.

 _"Hila?"_ Someone called. "How d _id I do for my first mission?"_

Unmoved, he looked up at the stars and replied to his confidant.

 _"Why you did everything perfectly, Janja."_ He replied. " _Now, we wait for tommorow to come._ We will continue with our plan from there."

And with that they sat there, planning there next moves.

*AUTHORS NOTE*

I dont really lile the idea of author notes, I feel like they take away from the immersiveness of a stroy. But this one is necessary. Right of the bat, I want to apologize for the inactivity this week. I am very sorry. I had to set some personal things straight before I could continue writting. Thank you for everything, you guys are awesome! And remember to stay tuned!


	6. Ultimatum

_**Ultimatum**_

It was a long night. It showed in the faces of the animals of the Grasslands. Kopa didn't get any sleep, for he was too busy thinking of his fate.

The animals sat in a rather large cricle. Each section of the circle was divided by the diffrent animals as they each sat in groups of eight or more. The rhinos sat at the top and bottoms of the circle, the Hippos and Cheetas to the sides, and the antelope and birds inter-mixed. They had no say in the matter, but Amani asked them to be there.

Asante and her family sat inside the circle near the edge, while Kopa and Hekima sat near the middle left inside the circle. To their right sat Hila and his pack. The tension between the two groups was obviously present today.

" _I hope you gave today quite a bit of thinking"_ Hila said to Hekima.

Hekima stayed silent.

" _Animals of the Grasslands. Thank you for gathering here today."_ Began Hila. " _Hekima and his family have taken in a young lion as one of thier own. According to them, he as been lost, beaten, and betrayed for an entire week. It breaks my heart"_ He said.

Hekima looked at him in disgust. Hila was obviously trying to win over the hearts of the other animals. He knew Hila would pull something like this.

 _"Liar_!" Hekima shouts. _"Last night you acted as if you wanted Kopa dead."_ Said Hekima.

" _Why what ever do you mean?"_ Hila said, faking a hurt expression. " _Even if I was lying, it's only for everyone's best intrest_. _Besides... How do you think the Pridelanders will feel once they find out that one of their own is in our land?...Especially one of Roalty..."_ He looked at Kopa and showed a devilish smile.

Everyone gasped. They all knew the consequences of keeping a Pridelander in thier territory. Especially one of the Royal family memebers.

War.

" _How did he know!?"_ thought Kopa. " _How does he know everything?"_

Kopa looked around, all the animals were in clammorimg in disbelief. His eyes met with Asante's.

 _"Kopa, your... your... roalty?_ she asked in confusion.

 _"I was gonna tell you, its just... I... I wasn't sure how you would... react."_ He said, face was red.

 _"Alright, Alright quiet down everyone"_ said Hila. It only made the talking and arguing of the other animals louder, which angered him.

 _"I SAID QUIET!"_ He snapped. Like when a pin drops, evrything went silent.

Still angry, Hila turned his attention back to Kopa and Hekima.

 _"I told you last night that I would give you your choices. Either the lion leaves now and saves us all from a battle, or he can stay to wittness a bloodbath."_ Popping his claws and baring his teeth. Still very angry.

 _"Hila, he's just a boy. Please we can work somethimg out, we just need a little more ti-"_ Hekima managed to get off before being interuppted.

" _No._ _Time doesn't stop for you_. _You need to make a decision. Right. Now."_

Hekima sat there in silence thinking very thoroughly.

He and Amani came up with a Plan for young Kopa last night. Unfortunately, they would have to kick Kopa out, and he would have to be on his own again. But it was his, and their, best shot of surving while also avoiding a war at all costs.

Hekima needed to choose his next words wisely if wanted this to work.

 _"Okay... Okay Hila. Your right._ " He began. _"My wife and I came up with a plan last night. Kopa may not be allowed to stay here, but Grassland policy states: **Outsiders are to be** **granted freedom to live and/or stay in the Grasslands if, and only if, they are able to** **complete** -"_

 _" **Njia ya Kifungu** " _Finished Hila in disbelief. How could they even remember that rule.

It was a _way of passage_. It is the toughest trial known in all of Africa. Many have started the trail and failed. Only one has ever been able to complete the trial.

Hila laughed.

 _"You seriously think that he, a little boy can complete Njia ya Kifungu!? You really have lost your mind Hekima!"_ Hila laughed, his men rolling with laughter behind him.

 _"Alright then. I will humor you."_ He said. Hila turned to the rest of the animals and passed the verdict.

" _Let be known that The Council has ruled to sentence Kopa of the Pridleands to Njia ya Kifungu. If completed he will be granted acsess to the Grasslands when ever he pleases. But **when**_ _he returns early... or fails to complete the trial..."_ He turned to face Kopa " _He will be put to death."_

Kopa's heart dropped.

He didn't ask for any of this. Kopa just wanted to go home. He wanted to sit atop pride rock again. He wanted to see his mom and his dad. His brother and sister. He wanted to give them a hug, tell them that he was alright and that he missed them. He wanted to tell them what happened to him while he was gone. He wanted to show them that he became bestfriends with a hyena, and that the grasslands were a wonderful place.

And now he couldn't. His only shot. Gone.

Kopa wasn't sad or dissapointed. He definitely wasn't scared either. He told himself last night that he was done being afraid. But he was something.

Mad. Very. Mad.

He lost everything he could have ever hoped for in less than two weeks. His friends, his family, his lover, his inheritance, his home, his new bestfriend.

And now he had just been betrayed by people he thought he could trust. History reapeating itself like an endless loop. It made him furious.

He gave both Hekima and Hila a glare that shocked both of them.

 _"Kopa I'm really sorry... we tried comming up with a plan... but unless you leave... We'll have war on our hands."_ Hekima truly did feel sorry, but it was one life up against hundreds of others.

"Save it." Kopa snapped. Everyone went quiet again

The silence was deafening.

"Kopa please-" Asante began before Kopa shot her a glare. It was enough to get her stop talking.

Kopa slowly turned his head and walked right up to Hila without hesitation.

 _"I would like to start my trial now."_ he said sternly. It almost sounded like an order

Hila smirked.

" _As you wish, your majesty."_ he said devilishly.

 _"Follow me."_

Without turning around once, the two set off to start Kopa's first trial.


	7. Trial By Wind

**_Trial By Wind_**

Kopa and Hila had been walking for nearly an entire day now. The sun had set hours ago. Kopa's legs were tired and his blister covered paws were causing him much discomfort. He stopped and sat down to catch his breath and give his legs a rest.

Still walking and without even turning around, Hila said to Kopa "G _et up and_ _keep walking. We're almost there."_

Despite Kopa's distressed and painful expression, he stood up continued walking. He couldn't turn back. Not now.

After another hour of walking, they finally stopped.

 _"We are here. Your first trial starts in the morning. I advise you get some sleep before the sun comes up, cause after tonight... well lets just say your sleep schedule will be different from now on."_ Hila said with a malicious grin.

He turned around and began walking the other way.

 _"What! You can't just leave me here by myself... how will I know what do!... or.. or when im finished with my trial?!..._ Kopa began. It was useless.

Hila kept walking back towards the Grasslands, ignoring every word that came out of Kopa's mouth.

" _Your whole world is about to come crashing down on you."_ Hila whispered to himself.

And with that, Hila dissapeared into the night. Kopa sat there by himself, staring into the direction that Hila was heading.

He was alone again. He was starting to get used to feeling, but he still wasn't very fond of it. Kopa closed his eyes, he knew he needed to rest before his he started his first trial. And with that, Kopa closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

 **Later**

 _"Get up."_

Kopa shot up, the sound obviously scared him awake. He looked at who the sound came from. It was a very old cheetah. He could tell he was old by the gray hairs that surrounded his face. Despite his age he was also quite muscular.

 _"Greetings child."_ He heard. " _I have been sent by the council to oversee and start your first trial. Follow me."_

They walked not far to a nearby small mountain and stopped as they watched another, younger, cheetah head towards them.

 _"As part of your first trial for Njia ya kifungu, you are to race the grassland's fastest: Kasi." _He pointed to the younger cheetah.

" _Are you serious? You can't expect me to beat a cheetah in a race! Let alone the fasttest of cheetah in the grasslands."_ Kopa argued.

" _Silence."_ innterupted the old cheetah.

 _"This first test is known as the **T rial by Wind.** Wind moves at many different speeds. Fast or slow, both fierce and calming. Although this is a race, it is also a test of the mind." _Began the cheetah.

" _On top this mountain grow the flowers of the_ _borrachero shrub. They are long, white flowers that hang from the tops of there trees. Who ever can bring me the most of this plant before the sun reaches it's highest point, will have successfully complete the first challenge._ " he explained.

Kopa didn't need to be faster then Kasi to win, he just needed be smarter. His intelligence was to thank for keeping him alive all this time.

 _"Okay. I'll do whatever it takes to earn my passage."_ Kopa said with confidence.

 _"Then we shall begin. Racer's take your mark."_ said the Cheetah.

 _"May Kopa of the Pridelands commence his first test: Trial by Wind in_

 _"3..."_

Both racers readied themselves.

"2..."

Kopa looked at Kasi, their eyes met.

 _"Good luck little lion. Your gonna need it."_ Kasi smirked. Kopa rolled his eyes and lookes back towards the mountain.

"1..."

 _"Begin!"_ The cheetah shouted.

The two launched off the starting place. Kopa was suprised, he was actually keeping up with the grassland's fastest despite having walked an entire day and having blister covered paws.

Kasi looked at Kopa and laughed. And like the snap of the fingers, Kasi kicked it into a whole other gear, leaving Kopa far behind him in his dust.

 _"Wow. Well I guess that makes sense now"_ Kopa said to himself.

Kasi was already a quarter of the way up the mountain before Kopa even reached the base. But Kopa stopped a minute to examine Kasi's climbing technique. It was sloppy, and everytime he took two steps up it looked like he fell down one step. He was going too fast.

Kopa laughed.

 _"Oh silly Grasslander. Back in the pridelands, I was the champion of climbing things."_ Kopa mocked. " _Uhg, I'm begging to sound like dad."_ he added, sounding partly disgusted.

Kopa readied himself and jumped carefully from perch to perch. He slowly and methodically calculated his every jump, and soon he had easily caught up to Kasi.

They pulled themselves up the mountain at the same time and ran trying to find the flower they were looking for.

They searched for hours trying to find the flowers they were looking for. They were both tired and hungry, but Kopa was also sore. His paws where killing him.

It was getting close to miday. Kopa needed to hurry if he wanted make it back before the sun reached its highest point.

He looked to his left and there it was. A small, stocky tree with several white flowers hanging from its lush green stems and branches. Kopa smiled and his eyes gleamed.

 _"Yes! finally!"_ he said to himself. He began picking.

But as he turned around he saw a very tired Kasi bolt down the side of the mountain with some flowers in his mouth.

" _Crap!"_ he yelped. He frantically started grabbing as many as he could and started running down the face of the mountain. Many of the flowers fell out of his mouth, but he managed to hold on to few.

The final stretch.

A straitaway right towards the old cheetah.

Kopa and Kasi were neck and neck. Kasi had worn himself out searching too fast for the flowers. But even when he was tired, he was still faster than Kopa.

Kasi had just barely beaten Kopa to the finish line. Kopa was filled with dissapointment.

How could he fail his first test like this?

The old Cheetah turned around and looked at the two racers. He carefully examined the two before he examimed the flowers. Kasi had brought back five, while Kopa had only brought back three.

 _"No"_ was all Kopa could think.

 _"Very well. Congratulations... Kopa you are free to start your next test. You have passed. Kasi, I am very dissapointed."_

 _"What!"_ Kopa and Kasi both shouted.

 _"Kasi..."_ The old cheetah began "...These are the wrong flowers."

Kopa and Kasi had swapped expressions, as now Kopa was beaming with happiness and Kasi was filled with dissapointment and regret.

" _Like I said before. Wind moves at many different speeds. It seems that you moved to fast to think, Kasi."_

Kasi bowed his head to Kopa. " _Congratulations"_ he said. Although he had lost, Kopa proved himself to be a worthy advesary.

 _"Well done"_ they heard. They turned their heads in confusion

It was Hila.

 _"Why what beautiful flowers these are"_ He said as he picked them up.

 _"Come Kopa. Your next trial starts in just a few short hours."_ Hila said, turning and walking away. Kopa followed. He was exhausted, but he was willing to do anything to complete his trials. And with that, they started there adventure.

 **At The River**

Kopa was confused, why was he back at the river? It wasn't the same spot where he fell in or got out. _"We must be_ _further upstream"_ he thought.

 _"Dont tell me my next trial starts here"_ Kopa pleaded. After his incident...Lets just say Kopa doesn't like swimming as much anymore.

Hila gave him a smirk, and slowly turned back around and walked away. Kopa was beggining to sense a pattern.

So Kopa laid down and closed his eyes. He knew he wasn't going to get much sleep, but any sleep at all was good enough for him.

 **Not far off**

Janja waited patiently for Hila to return. As he was looking into the darkness, he spotted a firgure approaching him.

 _"Hila!"_ he shouted with glee.

Hila simply ignored Janja and sat down with the flowers he had taken from Kopa.

" _Whats with the flowers? Find a special someone?"_ Janja joked.

Hila dissmised the joke.

" _These are_ borrachero _flowers. In this state, they are practically harmless, however..."_ he began to step on and crush the dead flowers until it turned to a powder.

" _In this form, it serves as a powerful weapon."_ he added

 _"When a user breathes even a small amount of this, it makes them prone to suggestion. They become mindless, and will follow any order they are given... without hesation."_

He took the powder and blew it directly into Janja's face. The white powder made Janja cough harshly, and his vision slowly started to fade.

There now stood a mindless hyena, waiting for his orders.

 _"Now Janja. It appears that the Pridelands have a new leader of the lion guard. I need him dealt with in order to move on with my plan"_ Hila orderd.

 _"Yes Hila."_ Janja said in a monotone voice. He turned around and headed in the direction of the Pridelands.

 _"Just as I planned."_ Hila said to himself.


	8. Trial By Water

**_Trial by Water_**

 **Two Years in the Future**

There lay the lifeless corpses of three former Outlanders. Fire surrounded the outter border of the Pridelands. The hot flames sent small cinders flying past the egret's head.

" _Aahh_ " Ono yelped. He was crawling away.

His feathers once a bright and beutiful white were now stained and charred with dirty, black soot from the nearby fire. His foot was injured, and he couldn't even stand.

 _"Why such a hurry little one?"_ he heard. _"Im not quite done with you yet."_ The voice trickled with venom.

Ono was picked up by his neck and was faced towards Pride Rock. He still had no clue who is attacker was, for he had not seen him at all.

 _"Now, I want you to listen closley little birdie..."_ The figure began.

 _"You...C..Coward..Turn me around so...so I can face you!"_ Ono gasped.

His attacker ignored him and squeezed his paw tighter around Ono's neck. He pulled the bird's ear closer to his mouth and whispered.

 _"One day, I will sit on top of that rock and rule the Pridelands, like I deserve to. I will take everything away from those who have wronged me...who have forgotten about me. They will all pay for their mistakes."_

 _"The Lion Guard won't allow for this!"_ Ono choked.

" _The Lion Guard?"_ The attacker laughed. " _This new Lion Guard is nothing but a joke. Especially now that Kion is leading it_ He said sounding disgusted.

 _"Kion is weaker then you think, poor Ono. Allow me to be the one to expose his real self. It will be easy now, as it appears he is shorthanded on man power. I've already had two of the other 'Lion guard' members dealt with."_ he said, a mixture of anger and delight could be heard in his voice.

All Ono could do was wait and listen.

 _"I want you to tell Kion that War awaits the Pridelands."_

Ono fell to the floor and gasped for air.

He turned around to face his attacker but it was too late. He was gone. Vanished into thin air

"Remember Ono...You may have the keenest of sight but I... I am always watching." The voice said demonically.

Ono still couldn't find his attacker, or pinpoint where exactly the words came from. It sounded like it came from everywhere all at once.

 _"I need to warn Kion and the others"_ Ono said franatically. He got up, limped a couple of feet away, and flew off.

" _This is Bad"_ he said to himself.

 **Present day**

Kopa shot up out of the water and gasped for air. He threw a pink stone out from the river

 _"How many is that Mafuta?" _Kopa asked as he tread the water.

" _Uhm lets see... One, three, nine..."_ Mafuta counted. "T _hat's twelve!"_ he shouted.

" _And how many more do I need to grab?"_ Kopa asked.

Mafuta quickly did the math in his head. " _Only eighty-eight more."_ He sounded cheerful.

Kopa groaned. " _Thanks Mafuta_."

Kopa dove back down and began searching again.

Nothing.

He came back up for air.

" _Mafuta, there is no way I am gonna find one hundred tiny pink rocks in this river before noon."_

 _"Aww, Come on now little buddy you can do it! Get rid of that quitter's attitude right now!"_ The hippo said.

Mafuta was diffrent from the last animal to oversee Kopa's trials. Unlike the cheetah, Mafuta wanted to be Kopa's friend. The enormous adult hippo was really just a kid at heart. They met early that morning and ever since, Mafuta has been trying to win over Kopa's friendship. But as of recently Kopa as found it hard to trust anyone.

" _Screw this. Mafuta, Im gonna try and find the white one."_ Kopa said as he dove back down.

Mafuta was shocked.

Animal's are given two options in order to complete their _Trial by Water : **1)** Find one hundred pink stones before noon, or **2)** find the white, heart shaped stone before noon._

There was only one problem with the latter option. Of the hundred animals who tried to complete Njia ya Kifungu, only one aniamal has ever found the white heart shaped stone before.

Kopa searched and searched, but with no luck. He didn't have enough time to change his mind again, and try to find the eighty eight other pink stones.

A few minutes had passed. He looked around under water when he saw something from the corner of his eye.

A shimmer.

He looked to his right. There it was. The heart shaped white stone.

Without coming up for air, he dove down towards it. However, the rock was further down then he had anticipated.

The effects from lack of oxygen were quickly setting in. His face and cheeks were begining to turn a bright red, but he was so close to the stone.

He swiped at it, just barley missing it.

He swiped again.

Miss.

Again

Miss.

Finally, he swam just a little deeper, grabbed the stone with both paws, and he pushed off the bottom with his back legs.

As he got closer and closer to the surface, Kopa noticed something was off. Instead of things becomong brighter towards the surface, everything was only getting darker.

His vision fadded to black.

" _Kopa!"_ Mafuta shouted with glee after seeing his ' _friend'_ resurface. But something was wrong.

Kopa floated unmoved and face down in the water.

" _Kopa!"_ He shouted again, this time obviously distressed. He jumped in the water, grabbed Kopa by his nape, and dragged him back to the shore

He set him down and waited.

 _"Come on little buddy, wake up."_ He nudged the unmoving body with his nose.

Nothing.

Minutes passed, and still, no sign of life.

Then, just when he thought all hope was lost, Kopa let out a harsh cough. Water could be seen exiting the lions mouth. He slolwy stood up with his forepaws, and turned to face Mafuta.

There in his hands was the heart shaped stone.

Kopa and Mafuta smilied at eachother. Mafuta couldn't belive that he had actually found the stone, or better yet, that was willing to push himself that far to complete his goal.

Mafuta picked the lion up and squeezed him tight.

 _"Mafuta!"_ Kopa gasped, trying to pull away from the hippo.

" _Oh Kopa."_ the hippo sighed " _Im so glad your okay!"_ he added as he let go of him.

Kopa couldn't help but laugh at Mafuta's childness.

" _Thanks Mafuta"_ Kopa said. They sat there for a few minutes, Kopa nervously laughing. He couldn't belive it. He managed to escape death twice now.

"What are the odds!?" he laughed as he stood up.

Kopa walked back over to the water and gazed into it at his reflection.

He looked different. Not like he didn't recognize himself, but it was enough change to become recognizable.

His whole face looked different. Not because his jaw was more defined, or that his eyes looked less soft and caring.

He just looked tougher, like he had been through alot. He looked like a fighter, one who was willing to do anything to survive.

He turned his head to the side and noticed that his mane was starting to come in on the back of neck. That's what really shocked him.

His eyes widened, all he could think was " _How long has it been? How long have I been away from home..."_

 _"Come on little buddy, Mister Hila is waiting at your next trial."_ Mafuta interupted his thoughts.

Kopa took one long last look at his reflection, before heading towards Mafuta. He hung his head in depression and followed the hippo.

"How long has it been?" he kept asking himself. Would they still remember him?Was it even worth it to return home at this point?

Mafuta noticed Kopas gloominess.

" _Whats the matter Kopa? You should be happy! Most animals drown at this challenege, you should be proud of yourself! Whats on your mind?"_ Mafuta said

" _Its just that..."_ Kopa paused. " _...Its nothing. Come on, we should get a move on."_ He said.

 **Back in the future**

The young adult Kion was finishing his patrol when he saw a bird come barrelling down towards him. It hit the ground with a loud _thump_

" _Whoa little guy are you okay?"_ he carefully picked up the bird.

 _"Kion!"_ It gasped.

 _"Ono?!"_ Kion gasped. He didn't recognize the bird, as it was covered in ash and soot.

 _"Ono, what happened, are you alright?"_ Kion asked

" _There was this...this..thing and it was just there... No one saw it or..or..heard it.. and then it got them Kion... It killed all three of them... And he grabbed me...Where's_

 _Fuli and Bheste...or...Bunga...Jasiri?...Where are they"_ Ono said frantically

" _Wait Ono, slow down. What happened?"_ Kion needed to know so he could warn the rest the pride

" _Kion... There's gonna be war"._

Kion's heart dropped.


	9. Trial By Time

**_Trial By Time_**

Kopa and Mafuta slowly approached a very dense and lush green jungle. There at the edge of the jungle sat Hila, patiently waiting upon their arrival. Kopa thanked Mafuta, and the hippo began his travels back to his river.

 _"Impressive. Most all animals dont make it past the Trial by Water. Congratulations Kopa."_ Hila said

Kopa ignored his words and sat down next to the Jackal.

" _Whats next."_ He asked.

Hila began to explain. " _Your next trial, Trial By Time, will begin in this jungle. Here, you are to--"_

"Great.Kopa said coldy. He got up and began walking closer to the jungle.

He knew what was going to happen. Hila would run through the basics of the challenege, introduce his new superviser, leave, and be patiently waiting at his next challenge. An endless pattern.

" _Excuse me?"_ Hila said aloud.

Suddenly, Kopa was yanked from his spot by his tail, and was pinned on his back.

 _"Did you forget who you are talking to?"_ Hila said through his teeth. He slowly pushed his paw further down on Kopa's throat.

The most suprising thing however, was Kopa's reaction.

Nothing.

He didn't move or flinch. He didn't even gasp from being choked. All he did was stare Hila dead in the eyes, and smile, as if he was challenging him.

Hila was infuriated. But he wasn't gonna let some punk teenager think he had control of him or of the situation. So he smiled back, and let Kopa up. Hila knew it was time for plan B.

" _Well I must say that I really enjoy this new you. The old you was really starting to annoy me with his patheticness. Always crying for his mommy and his daddy. Too afraid to do anything for himself."_ Hila began.

" _But this guy"_ Hila put his finger on Kopa's chest. " _This guy is way better. He's tough and resourceful. He knows how to take control of the things he wants. He's a fighter"_ He finished. He knew his words would have some affect on Kopa.

And they did. Kopa took a step back and his eyes met with the ground. He didn't like that he was changing, but he was. He didn't know how to stop it.

Finally, they walked to a small clearing in the jungle and waited. Something was off.

Usually Kopa's overseers where already there waiting patiently. But there was no one there. As a matter of fact, the entire jungle felt off. It was silent. Not even the humming of a mosquito could be heard. But that could only mean one thing.

They were all hiding from some one. Some

one whose mere presence strikes fear into the hearts of thoses around them.

 _"Any minute now..."_ Hila whispered to himself.

Kopa heard the slightest rustle in fromt him. If it wasn't so quite out, he surley would have missed it. He stepped closer to the noise, but was stopped by someones paw.

He looked to his right and jumped at who he saw.

A black panther.

 _"Ah Hamya, what a pleasure it is to see you again." _said Hila.

She didn't move or speak. Her neon green eyes were fixed on Kopa's. She was studying him, Kopa could tell.

" _Kopa, this is Hamya, the Grasslands keenest of sight and best hunter. She will be watching over you as you complete your next challenge. This one is quite simple actually. All you have to do is survive out here for five weeks."_

" _What? There has got to be more to it than that._ Kopa asked. He knew that Africa's toughest challenge wouldn't have a trial as simple as that.

 _"Oh your right, I almost forgot to mention. She will hunting you during this time. And if she finds you..."_ Hila slid his fingers across his throat.

Kopa's heart missed a beat.

" _Don't fret Kopa"_ Hila began. " _The first week, she is only allowed to observe you, no actual 'hunting'. But once week two starts, your free game."_ He smiled.

 _"Well, I'll leave ya to it. Good luck!"_ Hila said.

Kopa watched Hila run out of the jungle. As he turned back around he noticed Hamya had dissapeared as well.

Kopa sat there staring into oblivion for what felt like an eternity. He lay down with a horrified expression on his face.

This was going to be the longest month of his life.

He was right. The days felt like years, slowly passing with the rise and fall of the sun and moon.

Suprisngly however, the first week felt the longest. Allthough Hamya was restricted to observation only, she made her existance known. Kopa hadn't seen, heard, or even picked up on her scent at all the first week. But he could sense her presence. She made him second guess his every action.

The second week was much like the first week. Kopa still hadn't seen Hamya for the first six days of that week. But he was smarter that. He knew she was toying with him, trying to give him a false sense of security. Kopa needed to keep his guard up, check all corners, and leave no stone unturned. He was right, because on the final day of week two, she made her first attempt on Kopa's life. Luckily he narrowly managed to escape.

Weeks Three and Four followed a diffrent pattern. Almost every other day Kopa had to face the pantheress. His sleeping patterns varied on numerous factors. Things like how much food he had stalked up on, weather conditions, Hamya's hunting patterns/tactics. They were all vital factors on how his day played out.

But at the end of week four, Hamya attacked Kopa while he was getting a drink, they wrestled around in the water, until they ventured out a little deeper. Hamya quickly pushed off of Kopa, and struggled to make it back to the shore before running off. Thats when Kopa spotted her weakness. She appeared to be a very a poor swimmer. He could take her weakness, and use it too his advantage. Kopa devised a very complex plan from there.

The final week was the toughest. Making sure that every thing went exactly as Kopa had planned, proved to be harder than he imagined. In the end it all worked out, but not in the way Kopa had expected.

Hamya was ready to pounce on Kopa as he waited in the water patiently. When, she did, Kopa was quick to get out of the way. She fell straight into the water. Kopa rushed out of the water and began to run.

But he looked back. He didn't know why, he just did. He saw Hamya struggling to keep her head above the water. She was drowing.

He stood there debating his next move. Does he just leave her there to die? It would make his life ten times easier, but he couldn't let an animal die on his watch. Does he save her, and risk his own chances of survival?

Kopa groaned. " _Your better than this"_ He said to himself.

Kopa sprinted towards the panther. He dove into the water with no hesitation. He grabbed the huntress by her nape and drug her back to land.

She coughed up water, and looked at Kopa. Kopa ran off after making sure she was alright, leaving Hamya by herself.

 _"Did he really just save me? Why?"_ was all she could think.

Kopa looked on at her, hiding behind some nearby vegetation.

Did he make the right choice? Or did he just comprise his only chances of making it back home alive?


	10. Damaged

**_Damaged_**

 **Two Years into the future**

Kion carried his injured friend on his back as he sprinted back to Pride Rock.

How.

How could someone manage to kill three of the Pridelands best hunters, while simultaneously remaing undected by the lands keenest of sight? How did they manage to set fire to one of the outer borders, yet have it go unnoticed for more than three hours? Better yet, how did they manage to sneek passed Kion? He had helped to patrol that very spot twice today.

The more he thought about it, the more questions arose from the depths of his mind. He could only be sure of one thing. He needed to warn the Kiara and the others, and quick.

The lion raced to the mouth of pride rock, with his friend on his back. He didn't stop running till he made it inside of the den.

 _"Kiara_!" he yelled. " _Move, Move! Everyone out of the way!"_ He pushed passed the crowd of lion and lioness, until he reached the king and queen.

 _"Kiara, Kovu_!" the red manned lion gasped for air. " _You need to come with me, now. We need to find the rest of the guard."_

" _Kion is something wrong? Is that...Ono!_ " Kiara gasped. _"Great Kings, Kion what happened?"_ The queens voice went from confusion to shock in mere seconds.

 _"Kiara I can't. Not right now. You need to come with us, now. Please?"_ Kions eyes were wide. She had never seen her brother so afraid before. The queen knew he wasn't messing around. She shook her head in agreement and motioned at Kovu to follow them. Even Kovu was confused, but nevertheless, they speedily ran off to the the Lion guard's cave.

Once they had made it, Kion carefully set Ono down and ventured deeper inside the base to see who made it back.

To his relief, Fuli and Beshte were waiting around patiently for the other guard members to finish patrolling in their assigned sections.

" _Kion whats the matter"_ Came Fuli's voice. It only took Kions horrified expression to get her to notice that something was terribly wrong.

They followed Kion back down and were greeted by the unsettling picture of their feathered friend. The two gasped as they saw what happened to Ono.

 _"Ono! What happened, is he okay?"_ Beshte asked worridly.

"I've looked him over. O _ther than his leg and the fact thats he is coverd in ash...I think he'll be okay. Although, it might be a couple of weeks before your leg is fully healed."_ Kovu's voice sounded reassuring.

Ono explained to everyone what had happened.

 _"It all happened so fast"_ He said. " _First the fire...then the bodies...then him."_ The last sentence rang eeriely throughout the cave.

 _"And your absolutley positive that this was all caused by one guy?"_ Fuli asked. There was no way that anybody could pull something like that off single-handedly.

" _I...I'm not sure...He was the only one to make an impression. If he has any accomplices, they weren't there."_

" _Did you get a good look at him? Maybe we can narrow down some possible suspects."_ Kiara suggested.

Ono shook his head.

 _"Does it matter?"_ everyone looked at Kion. _"Look, the guy said he was bringing war to Pride Rock. We don't need to know what he looks like. This isn't some...murder mystery. He's gonna reveal himself sooner than we think."_

The group hated to admit it, but he was right. They didn't need to know who they were up against, they just needed to know how to win.

Beshte remembered something. Something very important

" _Uhm...Kion? Jasiri and Bunga are still out on patrol."_

" _Okay...?"_ Kion gave him a confused look.

Two crucial details hit him.

Jasiri and Bunga were assigned to patrol sections A and C. The smallest sections of the Pridelands.

They should have been back hours ago.

And his parents. He hasn't seen them at all today.

Kion gasped, his eyes widened with fear. The thought of what could have happened to them race rampidly throughout his mind. He needed to find them and quick.

 _"Kiara...Where's mom and dad?"_

Without a word Kiara and Kovu ran out of the cave. Usually Kion would have argued with his sister, and told her to stay here. Especially now that she was the queen, he couldn't risk letting anything happening to her. But he knew they needed to find everyone and fast. He knew deep down that she would be alright.

 _"Fuli, Beshte, stay here and watch over Ono. I'm going to find Jasiri and Bunga. If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, ANYTHING suspicious, come find me or Kiara and Kovu."_ He left the cave like a bolt of lightning.

He spent hours searching.

Nothing.

Not a single clue to the whereabouts.

He heard a laugh behind him.

" _Wow, you really are just as weak as he said you were. It's dissapointing really, I was expecting more of a challenege."_ The voice said.

Kion turned around, expecting to see a fimilar face. But he didn't recognize who it was, just the fact that it was a cheetah.

Kion let out a low growl. " _Who are you. What are you doing inside the Pridelands."_

The cheetah laughed. _"You've never heard of me? Kasi, fastest of the Grasslands, ring any bells?" _

Kion gave him a confused look.

The cheetah laughed again. " _It doesn't matter really. After we're done with this place, everyone will know who we are... who I am." _

" _Im not here to play any games. You, and whoever else you are here with, are not welcome. Get Out. Now."_ The lion said with cleched teeth.

The cheetah and the lion slowly began walking closer to eachother.

Kion readied himself to use his roar. As he opened his mouth he saw another figure on the top of a hill, out of the corner of his eye.

A panther.

At her feet was a bloody, beaten, tired Bunga, and next to her on the ground was Jasiri, in the same condition as their badger friend.

It made Kion freeze, and in his moment of hesitation, Kasi had pinned him, teeth bared and snarling.

" _Kasi."_ the panther said. " _Let him go. You know what will happen if he finds out you hurt him_."

The cheetah slowly let Kion up, angry that he couldn't just kill him there and now. It would have been too easy.

" _What are you doing Hamya?" _Kasi said unamused and angry.

" _There's been a change of plans."_ began the panther. " _Boss wants him instead."_

" _Why?"_

 _"Says he makes a better barganing chip. Makes sense though, this ones roalty."_ The panther said looking at Kion.

" _Listen up kid. Our leader is willing to let these two go if, and only if, you are willing to come with_ _us."_ Hamya said.

Kion stood his ground. Not moving nor speaking.

" _Okay then. Our boss also wanted me to let you know that he has your parents aswell."_ The panther added.

Kion's worlds came crashing down. His breathing became uneven and rushed. His heart pounding like crazy.

He stood there for minutes, not knowing what to do. Nothing has ever happened since he became leader of the lion guard to prepare him for this.

Kasi let out a very impatient and frustrated groan. He raced on up to his partner and popped his claw from his index finger. He held it against Bunga's throat and slowly drew it across. A small stream of blood could be seen dripping from the top right corner of the badger's throat.

 _"...Kion.."_ the long drawn out words came from his friends mouth.

"Stop!Kion shouted. " _Just stop. I'll go."_ he stated.

 _"Hahaha."_ The cheetah laughed. " _Good Boy."_ Kasi said, he stopped cutting at the badger and let him go.

Kion raced up the mound and checked his friends. Jasiri was uncouncious, but still breathing. Bunga on the other hand was awake, but just barley.

" _Bunga I have to go. You need to wake Jasiri up and warn the others when I'm gone. Find Kiara and Kovu, tell them to go back to Pride Rock. They'll need to tell the lioness."_ Kion began.

" _Kion wait... Im not leaving you..."_ Bunga tried to stand up.

The two were interupted by the pantheress. _"We need to go."_ she said with little emotion.

 _"Bunga, you will listen to your leader."_ Kion was serious. " _I'll be fine, you need to warn the others. Please."_

Bunga shook his head. He hated everything abkut the situation. Especially seeing his best friend make this tough a decision.

 _"Lets. Go."_ Kasi said through his teeth.

And with that, Kion began walking away with the two. He turned his head back towards his friend and nodded reasuringly.

But deep down, Bunga knew everything was only gonna get worse from here.


	11. What We Fight For

**_What We Fight For_**

 **In the Present**

Kopa had just saved someone who spent the past month trying to kill him. No one told him to do it, he just did.

Why?

Because no aniamal deserves to die when someone can do something to stop it.

Once the sun rises, he will have successfully completed his trialKopa chuckled to himself. He really did it. He managed to survive five long weeks by himself, in a jungle. He couldn't wait to tell his family when he got home.

He still missed them, but he knew he was going to find them. His dad was away from home nearly his entire cubhood. And if Simba, the great Lion King, could find his way home after being lost, so could Kopa.

Just as Kopa began to close his eyes, and finally go to sleep happy, He heard his name.

 _"Kopa?"_ It called. " _Are you here? I dont want to hurt you. I just-- I just want to talk."_

It was Hamya, she was below Kopa. He was suprised she couldn't find him. For the Grassland's best hunter, she sure was doing a lousy job of tracking him right now.

" _Maybe she doesn't want to find me"_ he thought. He had a point, if Hamya wanted to find Kopa, she would have, and with ease. She wanted him to come to her.

What if this was a trap? A last-ditch effort to try and kill him.

He waited.

" _I understand if you don't want to come out. I just... wanted to thank you for saving me. You didn't have to do that, especially after what I put you through."_ said the panthress.

Nothing but silence

 _"You saved not only me, but my cubs too."_ She hung her head in sadness. The thought of losing her children obviously had a massive impact on her.

Kopa shot up. Did she just say "c _ubs_ "?

The panther waited a few more seconds in the alone dark. As she turned around and began her walk back to where ever she stayed, she was stopped.

" _Wait."_ Came Kopa's voice.

She turned around and stared at him. He looked tense, like he was waiting for her to attack. But the attack never came.

Instead, she embraced him in a long amd warm hug. He had no time to react it happened so fast. Suprised and unsure of what to do, Kopa just stood there.

Eventually he returned the hug, and he knew that she wasn't going to try and murder him.

She pulled away, and looked Kopa in the eyes. She was crying. Not because she was sad. These were tears of joy.

" _Thank you so much"_ she chocked the words, but still managed to keep a smile.

 _"I want to show you something...If it's okay with you though"_ she begged.

" _Of course"_ Kopa nodded.

She lead him to a small clearing in the middle of the Jungle and carefully checked the surroundings. After she was sure the coast was clear, she pulled back a rather large leaf and revealed her suprise.

Two panther cubs, only a few months old.

Kopa looked down at them in awe. The cubs returned their feelings by looking at him with wide green eyes, and cooing with happiness.

He couldn't help but smile when he saw one of the cubs turn all it's attention to the firefly that had just landed on its nose. Clearly bringing the cub endless amounts of joy. He looked at Hamya, who was also shared his happiness.

" _I don't know how long they would have made it if something happened to me."_ Said Hamya.

" _Thank you, really. You dont know how much this means."_ she said. _"But I need to know...Why?"_ she questioned. " _Why save me? After everything I put you through."_

Kopa looked at her and smiled. _"Because it was the right thing to do"._ He turned his attention to the twin boys.

" _What is their names?"_ the lion asked

" _This one is Ujuzi_" she pointed to the one playing with the firefly. " _And this one is Bahati_" she pointed to the more relaxed cub.

Kopa chuckled. " _Well it is a pleasure to meet the both of you"_ He said delightfully.

Hamya laughed. " _I should probably let you go so you can get your rest. Hila will be waiting for you at your next challenge"_ she smiled before thanking him again.

 _"We are forever in your debt Kopa. If you need help, or anything at all, you know where to find me."_ she aaid bowing politley.

She hugged Kopa once more before he head off. He had a feeling that after over a month, he could finally get the rest he deserved. He smiled, before finally falling into a deep and peaceful slumber he so longed for.

Kopa realized why Hamya was fighting. For her, she fought for the saftey and protection of her cubs/family. Willing to do whatever it took to save them.

But what was Kopa fighting for? The obvious choice was for his survival, but deep down, he knew it was something else.

He too was fighting for his family. So that one day he could return and make them proud, protect them when they were in danger, and love them when they needed somebody.

Too always be there for them.

Thats what Kopa was fighting for.

 **Off in the distance**

" _So wait, let me get this straight. You want him to kill you? That doesn't make any sense, How will we move on with our plans if your dead?"_ Came a jackals voice.

Hila groaned and rubbed his temples.

 _"We've been through this. It's not our place OR our destiny to take over the Pridelands. It's his. But this soft, "respect all living creatures" version of Kopa has got to go."_ Began Hila.

 _"Unfortunatley, if we want my plan to succeed, and turn him into a stone cold tough guy, who isn't affraid of occasional murder... **Someone** is going to have to make a sacrifice." _He said, returning his gaze to the stars.

The other Jackal hung his head in sorrow.

" _It was an honor, Hila."_ he bowed politley.

" _Thank you for your trust and loalty."_ Hila returned.

The other jackal turned and walked away.

" _One. More. Challenge."_ Hila smiled.


	12. Trial By Fire

**_Trial By Fire_**

The final challenge. It was a long journey, but through hard work and perseaverance Kopa made it to the end. It was bitter sweet really.

Although not many animals know much about the other trials, it could be agreed that most knew about the last challenge.

 _Trial By Fire._

As Kopa approached the sitting jackal, he couldn't help but worry about what was going to happen. They call it the _Trial By Fire_ because it is supposed to change an animal, for better or for worse. Like a burning crucible. But what would happen to Kopa was a mystery to him.

" _You continue to both suprise and dissapoint me, Kopa."_ Hila smiled. " _You keep passing these tests when all I wanted was to see you fail. But it just goes to show how capable you truly are."_

Kopa sat patiently. What could Hila possibly have in store for him this time.

 _"Follow me."_

 _"Where are we going_ _this time?"_ asked the lion.

" _Somewhere fimilar..."_ came Hila's voice.

" _You know about the Circle of Life, dont you?"_ Hila said. The question it's self was very random.

Kopa gave him a puzzled look. _"Uhmm, Yes? Why?"_

" _Haha a cirlce."_ Laughed Hila. " _It's an interesting shape really, when you think about it. No real beginning or end to it. An endless loop, constantly repeating it's self."_ the jackal inquired.

 _'What is he on about?'_ Kopa thought to himself.

After a bit of walking, they reached a very fimilar location. One of the spots Asante and her family showed Kopa when he first made it to the Grasslands.

The exact spot where Kopa met Hila.

It all made sense now. Hila's speech about circles no longer puzzled Kopa.

" _I thought it was only fitting to end things where they began."_ the jackal smiled, facing Kopa.

Kopa looked around. The Grassland's animals were all present, sitting in a rather large circle. At the top of the circle sat Asante, and her family. Kopa smiled.

He pushed past Hila and walked right up to Asante. She too was smiling.

" _Kopa...I am so sorry for everything. I am sorry you had to do this by yourself, and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, I know your mad...Its just I--"_ The hyena began before getting cut off.

" _Im not mad"_ Kopa said sounding happy. His expression looked as if he was suprised that Asante would even think that. " _Why would I ever be mad at my best friend?"_ Kopa said, playfully nudging her in the shoulder.

" _You mean, your not mad at us?"_ Asante's father Hekima asked. " _You were so angry when you left."_

" _Well yeah, I was angry then, but I wasn't mad at you guys. I was just mad at the whole sittuation really, I'm sorry if it seemed like I was mad at you."_ Kopa said.

Hila coughed uncharacteristically loud, obviously to get Kopa's attention.

" _You'll have plenty of time to catch up once your done._ _But now it's time we end things."_

Kopa looked around the circle. He was trying to guess who would be his final overseer. Perhaps the rhinos? Maybe the one of the leopards?

Then his eyes fell on to Hila.

No, it couldn't possibly be him.

Could it?

Hila gave Kopa his signature smirk and laughed, obviously signifying that Kopa's guess was correct.

Kopa was taken back by it. Never in a million years would he expect Hila to be the one of his supervisors. He always expected someone else to do all of Hila's dirty work. But then again, alot can change.

And here they are now.

Hila slowly got up and stared into the teen's bright green eyes

" _You know something_ _Kopa? Your special. You have single handedly managed to succesfully complete three of the four trials of Njia Ya Kifungu._ _You and I both know there as only ever been one other animal to complete the challenge. Perhaps you will be the second_." Hearing this gave Kopa a sense of pride and accomplishment.

But it wasn't over, not yet atleast.

" _Your final test, Trial by Fire, will be administered by yours truly, Hila. The Grassland's fiercest."_ He bowed.The words were instantly met with Kopa's face of disbelief.

" _This is a_ _trial by combat_ , and t _here are only two rules. Firstly, there is no backing out once we start, and you must stay within the perimeter of the circle. Secondly, there is only one way for you to win."_ Hila said.

" _You will have to kill me."_ said the cocky jackal

No. No. No.

Kopa couldn't kill Hila, Kopa wouldn't even harm a beetle if given the choice. Not that he was incapable of killing him, for he was a lion and Hila was a jackal.

It was because Kopa refused to kill him. He respected all living creatures, and he knew everyone had their own place in the Circle of Life.

 _"No Hila."_ the lion demanded. " _I will not kill you, I can't. It's not right"_.

The crowd gasped in shock. Kopa was so close to completing Njia ya Kifungu, it was his last challenege. He would make history, being the second animal in decades to complete Africa's toughest challenge. Why, after everything he had been through, would he want to give up now?

" _What!"_ Hila said through clenched teeth.

" _I said I'm not going to kill you, it's just not right. I quit."_ Kopa said, still holding his head high. He knew he was making the right decision.

Hila let out a heavy sigh.

" _You dont have a choice."_ He growled as he lunged at Kopa.

Kopa narrowly avoided the attack. However, he was soon rammed in the side by Hila. It sent Kopa skidding across the arena. Kopa quickly got back up on his feet only to swiped across the face by Hila's paw. He yelled in pain as Hila's claws moved their way across his face, leaving three rarher large scratch marks on his cheek.

 _"Hila stop, this isn't right! We don't have to do this! We--we can find another way just please--"_ Kopa said.

Hila laughed at the lions pleas. " _But Kopa, you've come so far. It be a shame for you to give up now."_ He said deviously. Hila swiped at Kopas face again.

Kopa yelled. He knew what Hila's intentions were. Although Kopa wasn't keen on the idea of killing his opponent, Hila did not share the same vision. For now, if he wanted to survive, he would have to fight back.

Kopa bounced off to the side and returned the favor. He smacked Hila with his fore paw, sending him back a few feet. Although it wasn't as bad as Hila's attacks, it still granted a shocked expression from Hila.

 _"There we go, now we're getting somewhere."_ Hila laughed. He jumped back at the lion, snarling and lunging at Kopa when ever he got the chance.

Kopa was indeed very capable. Unless it were a cub, there was no chance that Hila could beat a lion, let alone kill one. However, Hila had planned for this.

By now, several minutes had passed. Eventually, the two opponents fell in a rythm of slashing and tackling eachother. Loud yelps of pain could be heard from both attackers. Kopa jumped on to Hila's back and, in turn, sent the jackal into a frenzy of pain. He kicked and bucked to try and get the teenage lion off of his back. Eventually, Kopa was thrown off of the jackal. The two stopped for a very brief moment and looked at eachother.

A deafening silence was present for miles in the Grasslands.

Kopa's serious, vibrant green eyes were locked with Hila's narrow, blood thirsty amber eyes. Hila was the first to break the silence.

Once again, Hila's arrogant side took over and laughed. " _I can see him in your eyes Kopa. He is much stronger and smarter than you in all aspects. Yet, he so desperatley begs and claws for a way to come out. And you are the one holding him back."_

" _What, Who are you talking about?"_ The words only confused Kopa.

Hila grunted with frustration. " _You idiot! I'm talking about you--the real you! The tougher, more intelligent, darker version of you. The one who managed to survive out here for months by himself."_ His eyes were now wide, and he sported a horrifying expression.

Kopa was quick to refute this claim. " _No Hila. I'm not who you say I am, and I never will be. This is the real me. The version of me who is kind, forgiving, and caring. I have made sure to only have love in my heart, because I have seen what happens to those with hate in their hearts."_

Hearing this only made Hila more angry. He lunged at Kopa, who easily avoided the attack. Kopa managed to trip and pin the jackal, as Hila was blinded by his own rage.

" _And you want to know something Hila?"_ Kopa challeneged. He pressed down on the jackals throat with his paw. " _I wont kill you. Not now, not ever. And no matter what you say, or what you do...I will never be the lion you say I will be."_

The two sat there in silence for a few moments. Hila managed to let out a laugh.

" _...Thats...e-exactly...what...K-ion said..."_ Hila chocked.

" _What?_ " was all Kopa asked. Hila was always so very cryptic. He let off of Hila's throat just a little.

"I said: _Thats exactly what Kion said... Before I killed him_ " Hila sneered.

It felt like time froze for young Kopa. He pleaded in his mind for it not to be who who Kopa was thinking about. He stepped back in denial.

" _Yes Kopa. I mean him...Your brother. But he wans't the only one... Your sister, oh whats her name. Kiara? Her screams where much better than little Kion's. It's a shame that I had to to end the fun so soon. They had so much to live for"_ Hila teased. He laughed loudly and demonically.

Kopa stepped back. His whole world just came crashing down. The thought of his siblings being murderd in cold blood made him sick. He felt as if he was going to faint or throw up. His legs quickly became very weak and shaky.

Then came the tears.

He quickly pounced back onto Hila and raised his paw. He began slashing and mauling the jackal, all the while screaming as tears flowed down is soft cheeks.

He raised his paw one last time.

" _Do...it..."_ Hila whispered. He had just been beaten within an inch of his life " _They would have wanted you to."_

Still sobbing, Kopa backed off. Even with what he just heard, he couldn't bring himself to kill Hila. He sat there and cried.

 _"Thats right Kopa... You can't beat the one who created you."_ Hila said. Kopa looked into Hila's eyes, begging for answers.

" _Don't you get it? I am the whole reason you are out here! I am the one who gave Zira the idea to take you away. I am the one, who told the rouge to venture in to the Pridelands. I am the one who set up all these stupid pathetic trials. And now...I am the one who is going to kill you." _Hila snarled.

Kopa's vision slowly began to fade, but not to black.

All he could see was red. He popped his claws out of his paws.

His feeling of sickness was soon replaced by a unfathomable hunger for revenge. His shaky legs soon felt strong and tense as new found adreniline coursed it's way through his veins. And his tears of sadness and despair were replaced by those of anger and hatred.

He jumped on Hila so quickly that if you were to blink, you would have surley missed it. With out hesitation, he clawed and pounded on the poor jackal. His attacks were fast enough to make even lighting jealous. All Hila could do was lay there and receive his unbearably awful punishment.

Finally Kopa raised his paw one last time and looked down at Hila.

The bloody, beaten and bruised jackal was struggling for air. His breathing became very slow, uneven and harsh. He looked up at Kopa one last time and laughed the way he always did.

" _Do it"_ Hila challenged.

Without hesitaion, Kopa slashed at Hila's throat in one quick motion. Not only did Hila's breathing stop, but it felt as if the whole world had stopped aswell.

Suprisingly, the crowd let out a cheer. Kopa had did it. The second animal on history to complrte Africa's toughest challenge.

Kopa slowly regained his consciousness. He looked down at his paws and then the now desceased jackal.

He was horrified.

" _Oh no. no no no no no no..."_ Kopa repeated to himself, his voice breaking with tears and terror eachtime he said it. The crowd went silent.

Kopa began shaking uncontrollably and began fumblimg around. He felt dizzy and sick again.

Asante saw that her friend was in trauma, and quickly ran up to him and brought him away from the horrific scene. As Kopa lay down on the ground with a wide teary eyes and a terrified expression, Asante held her friend tightly. She too was crying, as she couldn't even imagine what Kopa was going through.

They remaind there for the rest of the night, but Kopa never fell asleep. As a matter of fact, Kopa may never sleep again.

Hila's dead body still lay in the grasslands arena. He had died with his signature smirk on his face. Even in death, he still looked cocky and manipulative. But this is exactly what he wanted. This is what he needed to happen.

Just as he had planned.

 ** _Authors Note*_**

Im back! Sorry for the delay readers this one took me some time as this chapter was definitely a long one! I wanted to make this a good one! Wich brings me to my first point: The chapters from here on will be longer than what we are used to. How long they will be will depend on what happens in the chapter, but I figured most of my readers would enjoy having a little bit longer chapters!

Secondly, this is the first time I have ever written a fight scene. I personally think I did pretty good for my first time, but please feel free to critique me on it. Any and all useful advice helps

Thank you guys for everyting, you are all awesome! Please fill free to leave a review aswell, these are actually much more useful than you might think. They tell me that there are still people reading my story and that my efforts haven't gone to waste. And please, any review is better than no review in my opinion.

Once again, I can not thank you guys enough, you all rock! Happy holidays, and Thank you again! Remember to stay tuned!


	13. Fallout

**_Fallout_**

A harsh and cold wind rushed through the air, waking up the sleeping Asante. She jumped as the frosty air bit at her. She looked outside, and saw that it was still very dark out. It was still late in the night. She groaned, as she realized it would be nearly impossible for her to fall back to sleep now that she was awake.

She scanned the den and took into account who was still there. Her father, mother and brother were all nestled together close by, and the rest of the hyenas where strewn about the remaining area of the den. Although he was far from the rest of the clan, even Janja was present in the den. That is a rare sight, considering he made little to no contact with the rest of the hyenas.

But there still was someone missing. Despite the tightly packed den of sleeping hyenas, it still managed to feel empty to Asante. Once she had finished scanning the room she recognized the problem. Kopa was gone.

Again.

Asante let out a sigh as she knew exactly where to find the young lion.

 _"Why do you do this yourself Kopa?"_ she said to herself as the rest of her body slowly began to wake up. Although sympathy and sorrow rang in her voice, guilt and regret showed its pressance aswell.

Asante knew what happened to Kopa while he was gone, and she couldn't help but feel guilty for putting Kopa through a nightmare. The poor kid just wanted to go back home, but because she was so adamant on showing Kopa around the Grasslands, it ended up getting him trouble.

Because of her, they ran into Hila. And because of that, Kopa was forced into something he knew nothing about.

And it changed him.

She slowly got up, streched her legs, and approached the entrance of the cave. Asante nearly yelped as she stepped outside, it was freezing. She shivered as the cold wind rushed it's way through her fur. Every step she took on the cold hard ground wanted to make her jump, and return to her warm resting area. But she needed to find her friend, he was too important to her.

It wasn't long before she found the troubled soul. After about five minutes of walking, Asante found Kopa near the edge of a small pond that glowed with the reflection of the moonlight and stars. While Kopa lay near the edge of the pond, Asante stopped to observe.

The Grasslands were eerily quiet tonight, the only sounds that could be heard that night were the rushing winds blowing through the lush trees and loose grass. She continued observing Kopa. She watched has he looked up into the night sky, and utter some words that she couldn't quite make out.

She began walking to Kopa. She purposefully took louder steps so that she didn't suprise Kopa when she got close to him.

" _Kopa?"_

Nothing. She watched as he hung his head, the light from the sky made his tears visible against his soft and golden cheeks. He turned his head to the right to avoid interaction with the hyena. His hair on his back stood up as the rigid wind blew hard against the two figures. The pair sat there in silence

" _Kopa, talk to me. Please."_ begged the hyena.

" _It's been almost three weeks since **then** Kopa, you need to atleast try and come back to us. Please...just come back to us." _she added.

" _No!"_ He spat coldly. _"No!"_

Kopa's reaction made Asante jump as his words broke the night's silence with forceful impact.

He got up and quickly paced back and forth, eyes wide like he had been traumatized.

 _"Kopa! You and I both know that you are better than this. You are good hearted lion, and you have only ever had the best intentions for everyone. **You** , out of all the animals I have ever come across, deserve a good life! But you can't have one if your out here freezing and feeling sorry for yourself all the time!" _The hyena retorted sternly.

" _You think I deserve a good future? You think that I get to to live the perfect life that everyone wishes for, after I murdered another animal in cold blood?!_ The lion shouted.

"I don't deserve anything!" he said.

Hurt by the words that fell from Kopa's mouth, Asante did something that suprised the both of them. As soom as the lion finished his statement, Asante raised her first and swipped at Kopa.

She slapped him, the shock factor instantly shut the pair up.

" _You don't even get it, do you?"_ The hyena asked shaking her head with narrowed eyes.

" _You saved us from that **monster**. You freed us from **him.** " _she began.

Kopa said nothing, as choosing to remain in silence felt most appropriate given the current circumstances. Deep down, he knew the truth. He knew he was a hero, and that he also did the things that would better others rather than himself. Although this time, it seems that that mindset came with its repercussions.

" _Hila was arrogant, manipulative, cruel, and unfair. Not just to you, not just to my family and not just to the Grasslanders. He was ruthless and evil to everyone, Kopa."_ She added. _"But You saved us! You have given everyone here a better chance at life. Dont you see? You should be proud of yourself!_ " She persisted

But killing Hila wasn't why he was out here.

No, that was far from it.

It was how Hila managed to change Kopa while keeping interactions between the two minimal.

All of Kopa's challenges were setup by Hila himself. And, they were set up in a way that would break the mind of an average animal, and challenge it's soul.

That is, if they didn't get killed first.

Hila didn't have to do a single thing to get Kopa to break...to get him to change. Making a child complete almost near impossible challenges was just the beginning. It was never part of Hila's plan for Kopa to die, nor was it for Kopa to give up. He had studied Kopa. He knew it was unlikley for Kopa to give up on something once he had started, so he used this to his advantage. Each challenge would break a diffrent part of Kopa each day, and after Kopa was done with the challenge Hila would " _fix_ _him"_.

Although it wasn't fixing, rather, more of a " _re-molding"_ process. Hila would say something or do something to Kopa to see how he would adapt.

And it worked.

Hila bent Kopa to his breaking point. Forced him to do things agsinst his own will.

 _"No... I'm not a hero. Asante... I...I...I'm."_

 _"My bestfriend?"_

 _"Asante, you don't understand."_

 _"What more is to understand Kopa?! How many times do I have to say it?"_

 _"you saved us!"_ she added

" _Asante..."_ he tried

 _"Kopa! Look, I understand. Your traumatized that you killed another animal, and your scared that everyone will look at you differently._ _But if you would just let us help then-"_

 _"Asante, please..."_

 _"No Kopa! I don't want you to live this life! Your my best friend, and you deserve so much more. Kopa, your our hero--"_

She was cut off as the teenage lion pounced on her. His bright green eyes cut through Asante like hot steel, as they burned red with firery embers.

 _"No."_ he said coldly.

" _I. Am not. The hero."_

Because of his actions, the pair were sent back a couple of feet, into a patch of grass that shone bright from the light of the moon and stars. Brighter than their previous position then the one they were in before.

It made **_certain_** things eaiser for Asante to see.

She looked up at Kopa and noticed his muzzle soaked with a red and sticky substance. It reeked with death

Her eyes widend in fear. How did she not pick up on this scent before? She must have been too distracted when trying to talk her friend down.

She looked the rest of the lion down. Not only was his muzzle drenched with blood, but so were his wet and sticky paws. And some of his underbelly aswell. His once friendly face was now one that demanded respect through fear.

" _K-Kopa...What did you do?"_ The hyena asked terrifed.

Realizing what he had just done, Kopa imeadatley backed off of his friend. His mind raced wirh panic as he realized that he could have seriously hurt his best, and only friend.

" _Oh my- Asante! I'm so sorry, I..._ _I-I didn't mean to!"_ he cried.

" _Kopa..."_ Asante hesitated. She was so shocked by what had just transpired. She wasn't sure what to say or even what to do. Anything she did from this point on was bound to have consequences.

 _"Kopa it's okay... I'm okay. I just came here to help you, alright? That's what friends are for. But_ _I can't help you if you don't tell me_. _..What did you do?"_

 _"I cant!"_ Kopa shouted imeadatley. _I"m so sorry, so sorry, so sorry..."_ The lion repeated hysterically. Before he had mild tears, but now, he was an uncontrollable hot mess.

" _Kopa, you need to tell me. I want to help"_

" _You'll hate me..."_

 _"I'm going to hate you more if you don't tell me"_

Kopa remained in his spot, unmoved. He felt sick to his stomach after what he had done. He needed to get better, and Asante was the only one who knew how to help him. He had just ran out of options, and He was beginning to run out of time.

He had to tell her.

 _"Asante? I'm not a hero..."_ quietly, Kopa sadly began.

 **Four hours earlier**

Kopa shot up sweating and panting.

He had just awoken from a reoccurring nightmare, one that would sure to haunt him for ever. He shook his head as he tried to clear his head. Kopa stood up from his stop in the hyena's den, and ventured out to a familiar spot. Underneath the same tree he layed under on the day he met his best friend. He found that he kept returning to this spot quite often after certain... " _recent"_ events.

It was finally dark out, and was too cold to stay outside for the night, however, over the months, Kopa came to enjoy the cold nights.

He found that he was particularly hungry at the moment, considering he had hardly eaten anything in four days. He clenched his stomach as the pain from lack of food was quick to set in. He felt as if he didn't deserve food after he killed Hila. It had been nearly three weeks since then, but the memory of that day still haunted him.

He couldn't go a day without having a panic attack. The memory of Hila's blood on his paws was a mental scar on poor Kopa. No matter how hard he scrubbed his paws, he still felt the feeling of the jackal's warm blood on his paws. He would rub his paws in the dirt, cover them with grass, smear fruits on them...They all had the same effect.

Nothing.

He let out a sigh.

Kopa left the base of thr tree to see if he could snag a quick meal. He didn't complete Africa's toughest challenge just to die of hunger. After a bit of searching he came up on two small fuzzy creatures hidden within the tall grass.

Two dessert rabbits.They were big enough to tame his hunger, but not big enough to be considered an actual meal.

" _Easy snacks"_ thought Kopa as he silently stalked his prey. He slowly and quietly crept towards the animals until he was within an optimal range of pouncing.

He lept forward, pinning the both of them. When he landed, he found it took little effort to hold down the two aniamls.He watched silently as his prey desperatley squirmed beneath his paws.

His vision, slowly faded as he was lost in a feeling of ecstasy and wonder. The world around him felt like nothing like an illusion.

" _Please!"_ The male rabbit pleaded.

" _Don't hurt us!"_ The fuzzy female hare begged.

Kopa let out a low growl that made both the rabbits scream pure in terror. He looked at both of them and couldn't stop himself from laughing...

...laughing? Why on earth was he laughing?

He couldn't help himself. For some reason, he just couldn't stop. Kopa laughed uncontrollably, and he didn't know why. Was it because someone else finally knew what it was like to feel pain? To hurt?

It was a relief seeing that someone other than himself was the one being tourtured and manipulated.

It made him... Happy.

He bit into the neck of the female rabbit, and she choked as her throat was compressed beyond safe regulations. Eventually, her wide eyes rolled into the back of her head, as a loud **_cracking_** noise echoed on through the night. Blood spewed from the holes in her neck.

The male rabbit screamed in horror at the sight of this.

" _No no no no no... Please no... Stop! Stop! You dont have to do this!"_ the male hare begged.

Kopa roared as he castaway the female rabbit, directing all of his attention onto the only remaining survivor.

He found that a his hunger had increased, but not the hunger for food or sustenance. Rather, a infathomable hunger for pain. For blood and torture.

A chance to finally have some fun.

He stuck a claw into the lower abdomen of the rabbit and slowly drug it across in a manner that would have made him pass out before. But now, he couldn't get enough of the rabbits pleasuring screams. He took one of the rabbit's hind legs and bent them back until he heard the sound he was looking for.

 ** _Snap!_**

The rabbit screamed in pain. Kopa smiled as he repeated the same action to the other leg.

 ** _Snap!_**

He continued laughing and torturing the rabbit to fufil his dark desires.After minutes of torture had passed, he finally decided enough was enough.

He slammed his fists on top of the rabbit's skull, over and over and over...

To the point were the animal was almost unrecognizable. Where a once young a fruit full rabbit was, now lay a bloody, beaten, mangled corpse in his place. Kopa roared into the night has he finished his kill. He discarded the body, and carried himself to the location of the female rabbit that he had previously thrown away.

He tore into the creature like a ruthless savage, as he devoured his kill.

After he was finished, Kopa walked to the edge of a nearby clearing, and peered on into the distance. He noticed four grazzing gazzel. He brought his body close to the ground and slowly crept towards them, careful not to make a single sound.

He smiled and let out a low and quite growl, slowly inching his way closer to his next victims...


	14. Trust But Verify

_**Trust But Verify**_

 **Present Time**

" _Kopa..."_ Asante gasped.

The things that Kopa described...the things he did to those poor animals. It made the both of them sick. Once he had finished his story, Asante demanded that he take her to the bodies.

This was more then a crime scene. This was...indescribable. The lifless bodies of gazelle and rabbit lay strewn about a hidden patch of grass and trees. The smell of the bodies however...was not so well hidden.

Asante felt sick as her knees began to buckle, her stomach twisted tightly into a knot, and her head began to feel lighter and lighter. Kopa wasn't any better. He too felt sick because of his actions, and the looming feeling of guilt only added on to his sickness.

The hyena looked at her friend with wide eyes.

" _Kopa, what have you done?"_ her voice cracked as she tried to release the words.

" _Why would you do this?"_ she asked in desperation

 _"I dont know"_ he said.

For a beief second, Asante noticed that Kopa's expression had changed. He didn't look sick and scared of his action anymore. No...

...He looked proud. He held his head high and his chest was puffed as he waited for Asante to reply. He let a small chuckle out.

This only angered Asante.

The pair stood in silence for a moment. Asante narrowered her eyes and let a low and menacing growl sound from her throat.She pounced on the lion and showed her long and sharp teeth and scratched his face before proceeding to yell at him.

" _What do you mean 'you dont know', huh?! How do you not know why you would kill someone?!"_

 _"I didn't mean it like that."_ he choked

Asante looked at her feiend with a puzzled look. She slowly stepped off of Kopa, and allowed him to resume his previous stance.

" _Explain."_ The hyena was determined to figure out why her best friend would even think about justifying multiple murders.

 _"I know why I did it."_ he said confidently

 _"And why is that?"_ she spat.

He paused a bit before responding.

" _It only felt fair"_ was his answer. " _I...I just don't know **why** I felt that way."_

" _Fair?! Kopa are you kidding me?! What is wrong with you-Do you even hear yourself!?"_ Asante scoffed.

Kopa was quick to refute. He narrowed his eyes and continued his rebutal, with a look of disgust on his face.

" _You dont get it, do you?! I have been tortued, lied to, maniuplated, and put through the impossible and back, just so that I could come back to a place that I dont even want to be! You think I wanted to be here?!"_ The lion was shouting. So loud in fact, that it woke the rest of the Grasslanders.

" _Imagine how I felt when I saw someone else getting hurt? Do you know how I felt, huh Asante?!_ Kopa argued

" _Enough Kopa!"_ she shouted

 _"I felt relieved, and happy! I finnaly felt a peace! Finally someone else was getting hurt beside me!"_ the angerd lion interupted.

Asante realized how much Kopa had really changed. He wasn't the kind, and " _love everbody"_ cub that he used to be. He was a lion who didn't care about anything...or anyone else...except for one thing.

" _I JUST WANT TO GO HOME_!!" he shouted.

By now, everyone was wide awake, and watching the scene that Kopa and Asante had created. The sun had peeked an hour ago, and the animals had all gathered close to the raucous.

 _"IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GO SO BAD, THEN JUST LEAVE!"_ Asante shouted, getting closer and closer to his face.

Kopa unleashed a earth shattering roar that scared everyone around into listening with attentive ears. He brought tthe volume of voice down drastically, but spoke to Asante more coldly, talking just loud enough so only the two of then could hear.

" _You want to know something Asante? I want to make it **very** clear that you are the reason that I am the way I am." _His gaze never left hers.

 _"Your the reason I that I had to meet your family, and their the reason I ran into Hila. He put me through a nightmare just to get back to this place. **I am this way because of you.** " _said Kopa. _"Look at it any way you want, but this **all** comes back to you Asante."_

She stepped back and processed the infromation given to her.

Kopa was right. She was the one who started his series of unfortunate events. She was the one who brought him into the Grasslands, and she is the reason he met that monstrous jackal Hila.

" _Kopa-I never realized...I-I'm so sorry Kopa- I'm sorry..."_ Asante felt guilty again.

She would never in a million years think that being nice and genuine to a stranger would lead them down a path like this. But with Kopa...Thats exactly what happened

" _I dont want your apology, Asante! I don't care about you, or Hila, or anyone. **I just want my life back!** " _He spat back coldly.

Asante shed small tears after hearing that. She was unable to cope with this new found sense of guilt and sorrow.

Kopa grunted and rolled his eyes.

" _So much for Best Friends."_ he whispered to himself.

With that, Kopa turned his back to his once good friend Asante, and began walking.

To where he was going, Kopa was unsure of. But at the moment, it didn't really matter. After everyone finds out about what he had done, it wouldn't mstter if they thought him a hero anymore. It didn't take a genius to know that a murderer would most definitely not be welcome into anyone's territory, no matter how much good he might have done.

Without looking back, Kopa continued walking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kopa shot up from a nightmare, the same one he had last night as a matter of fact. The same one that sent him off on a murder spree.

He had left the Grasslands early in the morning, and now the sun was right smack dab in the middle of the sky. He got up and looked around the hot African desert. He wasnt hungry, nor was he thirsty, so he continued walking.

He couldn't stop thinking of that nightmare.

He remembered walking around in his dream. He remembered being back at his home in the Pridelands. Everything was exactly how he had remembered it. The grass was still green, the sun perched right at the tip of Pride rock, and the animals were all happy with whatever they were doing at the moment. He remembered still being just a little cub-- as if he had never left his home.

Kopa saw his friends and family just above a nearby hill. They were laughing and walking, and most inportantly, enjoying eachothers company. Kopa was shocked to see them.

" _Mom!?...Dad!?"_ he shouted.

He ran up the lush green hill to try and catch them, but he was to slow as he watched them descend on the opposite side of the hill.

When he reached the top of the hill, they were gone.

Everything was gone.

No trees, no grass, no rocks or even animals. Just flat land covered in dirt, and a whole lot of empty space. Everything just up and vanished. With the speed of a cheetah, eveyone just disappeared. Even the towering pressance of Pride Rock it's self seemed to dissapear as well.

The Pridelands became so eerily quiet.

"Hello?" the little cub said

"Anybody? Hello!" He shouted.

A dark and dusty smog quickly set in and made anything that wasn't three feet infront of him impossible to see.

He stumbled his way around the smog covered land as he searched for anyone or anything.

...Then came the voices...

The dark, sadistic voices of three other animals struck fear into little Kopa, as he readied himself for an attack. Except, he was unsure of were the voices were coming from. They sounded like they were everywhere at the same time.

As he looked further on into the distance, he could make out three sets of glowing red eyes in the blanket of the smog

"... _Hello Kopa..."_ whispered a voice. It's voice sounded oddly lower and more raspy than it was supposed to.

Two more approached and stopped at the same distance as the first voice. It wasn't hard to make out who the voices belonged to. They inched closer, and revelead their true forms.

Hila, Zira, and the rougue lion.

Zira and Hila gave Kopa a rigid and horrifying smile, while the rougue watched him with steady eyes.

Kopa gasped and shook as his three worst nightmares stood before him.

The one resembling Hils spoke slowly and chose his worss precisley.

" _...Dont worry little Kopa...We aren't who you think we are..."_ he said inching closer to Kopa

" _I know exactly who you are! Stay back Hila!"_ Kopa shouted.

 _"...A noble guess, but not quite..."_ he laughed. His voice souneded more quite now, and as if it were coming from a distance.

The other two joined him in laughter. It shook Kopa to his core.

" _...Allow us..."_ Hila's form started.

" _...to explain..."_ recited the trio.

 _"...We are you..."_ the forms said in unison.

Kopa backed up as they approached him. The figure resembling Zira unleased an angry roar as she pinned Kopa to the ground.

" _YOU"_ she yelled, her voice laced with venom.

" _...I AM THE RAGE THAT BOILS WITHIN YOU...THE FIRE THAT KEEPS YOU WARM AT NIGHT...I AM YOUR BASIC INSTINCTS...THE ONES THAT HAVE KEPT YOU ALIVE ALL THIS TIME...WITHOUT ME YOU EOULD BE **NOTHING** " _she growled into Kopa's ear

Kopa squirmed his way out of her grasp and "Zira" disapeared from his dream. But in his haste, he ran right into the rougue lion.

" _ **Kopa." "It's me."**_

 _ **"Dont you remember?" "It's me."**_

 _ **"Kopa?" "Kopa?"**_

 _ **"Remember..."**_

 _ **"Its me"**_

The voice of the lion was whisper like, yet... Every other word seemed to come from a different direction at random distances.

 **" _Im your biggest fear"_**

 _ **"Fear" "Kopa "**_ _**"Fear"**_

 _ **"Fear" "Fear"**_ _ **" Its Me"**_

 _ **"Kopa"**_

The voice hissed as it repeated itself.

 _ **"I am the unknown"**_ it whispered.

With that, the second form also left Kopa. He turned his head in the direction of the way the wind was blowing. Until he came face to face with Hila.

He panted as he gasped for air. Sweat fell off of him like he had just bathed in the rain.

 _"...Hello Kopa...Its been a while..."_ The form said, smiling the same way Hila used to, except--more demonically.

Kopa backed up, until he came to a complete stop. His paws were burning, as if they were on fire.

He looked down on the ground to see that the ground was in fact burning. As a matter of fact, everything was burning.

His entire surrounding was engulfed in huge red flames that crackled and hissed as they consumed the vacant land around them. The smoke billowed to the top of the sky, covering them in a thick blanket of darkness. But Kopa was lucky enough to be able to make out several figures up above the smoke. There was even a small patch of the blue sky available.

Thats when he relized who they were.

They were his friends and family. All of them were there. Simba, Nala, Kion, Kiara, Asante and her family, Mheetu, His grandmothers...

...And Vitani.

They were all calling to him.

Hila crept towards Kopa.

" _...I am the other burning desire that resides in you...But I lie within your mind... Kopa...I am the greed that consumes you..." _'Hila' said.

" _...Everything you have...and could ever want...Is up there..."_ Hila pointed towards Kopa's friends and family.

" _...But theres one thing wrong with you... Your willing to do whatever it takes to get what you want... Even if that means...Hurting others."_ he finished.

" _No No No!!"_ Kopa repeated over and over as Hila laughed and faded from his mind.

" _NO!"_

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kopa snapped out his thoughts as he realized he had been walkikg around aimlessly into a small pond.

He looked around.

Everyrhing was back to normal.

He let out a sigh of relief as he bowed his head and took a drink of the crystal clear cold water.

" _Phew, I needed that."_ he said to himself.

As he pulled his head up he looked at his reflection. He studied his image for a bit, admiring some of his newer qualities like a more defined jawline, and stronger physique.

But he noticed someone in the background, and before he could react, he was tackled into the water.

Whoever his attacker was, put their paw on Kopa's throat as he slashed about the water.

Time was limited, and so was is oxygen.

He did everything he could, but the pond's slippery bottom made it difficult for him to move.

His vision slowly faded to black as he began to released his breath and his lungs filled with water...


	15. A Familiar Face

_**A**_ _ **Familiar Face**_

If there was anything in the world that Kopa hated most, at this point it would have to be water. Nearly drowing three times isn't what he would describe as a particularly "good time." In his own opinion, of course.

As his head was pushed down further into the water, Kopa tharshed violently, desperately trying to free himself from his attacker's death-like grip. His lungs burned from the lack of oxygen, and the feeling in his limbs slowly reduced to a dull numb feeling. His vision fadded, and Kopa was left paralyzed, laying just underneath the surface of the pond.

With no one by his side to help him, the only company present were the thoughts that raced rapidly inside his mind.

A miracle was what he needed. And if he needed one before, he definitely needed one now.

As luck would have it, that miracle came quicker than expected.

Although most all his body was numb, there were some areas of his body that still retained their use of feeling. Some how, he felt the alleviation of his attackers paw from his throat.

But Kopa wasn't out of trouble yet, as the rest of his body was still paralyzed. Knowing he would sink further down into the shallow pond, Kopa desperatley tried to move his muscles, but with no avail. He couldn't do a single thing but wait.

Wait, and pray that someone would notice him.

But who was he trying to fool?

Nobody cared about him. The Grasslanders surley wouldn't help, he killed four of there members, because why: He was jealous of how much eaiser there lives were than his? Asante wouldn't help him either, not after he pushed her away like that. And his family...

It's been months since he last saw them. Kion, Kiara, Simba, Nala, Mheetu, and Vitani. He hasn't seen, or heard from, any of them for months. Are they still looking for him? Would they still recognize him? Would they still love him, after everything he's done?

Or have they given up on him?

No, they would never do that.

 **You never give up on family.**

_

 _ ***Cough***_

Kopa awoke just outside a very small cave, not far from the pond he that he previously in. Spitting up large amounts of water, he frantically stumbled as he tried to regain his breath. His vision flodded with the extreme colors of the landscape around him as it painfully made his head hurt. He got up to move, which proved to be a rather difficult task. Every movement, no matter how slight or minute, made his whole body feel as if it were on fire.

He winced as his body was fast to hit the ground again.

" _Whoa-Whoa hey there, take it easy now kid."_ he heard from behind him.

Kopa wipped his head around to see who was speaking.

Another lion.

 _'No way'_ Kopa thought to himself.

He hadn't seen another lion in months, and now he was sitting face to face with one. Perhaps his luck had finally changed for the better. And maybe, just maybe,He was one step closer to the Pridelands...

...One step closer to home

" _Are you alright kid? You look like you've been through the ringer."_ the lion joked.

" _Uhm...Yea, I think Im alright but-- Where exactly am I?"_

The older lion's deep voice chuckled once more as he began to explain.

" _No need to worry kid. Your safe now."_ the lion assured.

" _And right now, we are currently_ _inside my temporary 'living quarters'_ _. I'm a rougue, so let's just say staying in one spot isn't particularly my strong suit. But please, make your self at home."_ he said.

' _Home_? _What I would give to be home right about now_ ' Kopa thought.

" _Thank you"_ Kopa said, repositioning himself.

" _Pleasure's all_ mine."

" _If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did I end up here? I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, but I'm just a little--"_ Kopa began

 _"Confused?"_ the other lion interupted.

" _Yea..."_

" _Well, your lucky that I was in the area. I had just woken up to get a drink, and as I walking to the pond, I saw you. Thought it was a good idea if I stayed back, as to not startle you."_ He began.

" _But t_ _hen, up in the tree you drinking underneath, I saw a hyena perched on one of the lower branches. Not really sure how a hyena of all animals managed to get up there, especislly for his size, but he did. And then, he pounced on you. Looked like he was trying to drown you and also looked like were having some trouble. I couldn't just stand by and watch that."_

Kopa thought about what he was hearing. Was it possible that one of the Grasslander's followed him? Maybe they attacked him because of what he did to those animals.

 _"Did you manage to get a good look at him?"_ Kopa asked.

" _Uhm, yes I think so_." The other lion paused and thought about this for a moment.

 _"He was about a medium sized hyena, with short spiky hair that ran down the top of his head to the middle of his back. He had an awfully ugly sneer on his face too. He kept shouting something like: Stupid, filthy lions!...or something along those lines."_

At that point Kopa knew exactlty who his saviour was referring to.

" _Janja."_ Kopa said through clenched teeth.

" _You know him? Wow, what did you do to upset him."_

 _"Not really sure, actually. He just really, **REALLY** , __hates lions."_ Kopa said thinking about it

" _Oh, well then glad he isn't here anymore."_ the lion joked

 _"Same here._ _Say, I never got to say thank you. You didn't have to save me, but I'm really grateful that you did."_ Kopa said.

" _Oh you don't have thank me. I would have helped anyone who was in that situation."_

Once Kopa had regained enough strength, the two slowly walked out of the cave, into the brightness of the outdoors. This made it clearer to see everything about both of the lions.

" _I never caught your name_." Kopa asked as he looked off into the distance.

 _"My name is Ajabu."_ The older lion said. The two lions turned to face eachother, looking into eachother's eyes.

Kopa froze. He looked so fimilar. The broad shoulders, the darker colored mane, the facial structure...all too fimilar.

Ajabu himself froze aswell. Something about Kopa's bright green eyes. He had seen them before.

After an eternity of gazing at eachother, the two instantly recognized eachother.

Ajabu wasn't the good samaritan he claimed to be. And Kopa wasn't just some defenseless lion that Ajabu had rescued.

Ajabu was the rouge that took Kopa away from his home in Priderock. The same lion that stripped him away from everything he loved.

Kopa's expression of shock switched rapidly to one of anger.

Kopa unsheathed his claws as a low and angered growl rumbled from deep within his throat. He slowly crept towards Ajabu.

" _K-Kopa, are you- you-are-- Is it really you?!"_ Ajabu said in disbelief. He backed up slowly through a deep intinctual level of fear.

Not because his life was in danger. Becuase his past had just come back to haunt him.

To add insult to injury, Kopa wasn't the same small defenseless cub he used to be. He was close to becoming a young adult, as his tight muscular build and incoming mane was here to prove that.

Without saying anything, the teenager swiped at Ajabu. However, Ajabu was quick to duck. More and more attacks flew from Kopa, however all failed to hit there mark as he was too blinded with rage.

" _Kopa wait! I can explain! Please, just stop for a second!"_

In his blind rage, Kopa was beginning lose sight of his surroundings.

" _Kopa watch out!"_ Ajabu warned.

Kopa didn't even relize were he had just stepped.

Well, it was more of a fall, as he tripped over a dead tree trunk, and was sent spiralling down the side of a hill. Hitting rocks and other miscellaneous obejects on the way down, Kopa scratched his entire left side on another fallen tree, as he came to a ridgid stop at the bottom. The sudden stopping and deceleration of speed knocked the breath out of him. He lay at the bottom of the hill, ubable to get back up for a brief moment.

Ajabu, afraid of what had just happened, was scared to check on Kopa. Whether that was because of their interesting past, or because of the events that had just transpired, he was unsure of. But after watching Kopa lay at the bottom of the hill, and failing to get back up, Ajabu thought to himself.

 _'I've done so much harm to this kid's life. I can't just let him lay there, hurt and tired. I'm responsible for who he is, and I am reaponsible for this mess. It's time for me to pick up the pieces.'_

He ran down the side of the hill and stopped just a few feet short of Kopa's position. He waited, watching for any signs of attack.

But as he drew closer to the young adolescent, he noticed that Kopa was in no shape to get up. His breathing was rough and ridgid, and his legs shook uncontrollably everytime he tried to get up. The emotion he displeyed was...

...heartbreaking.

Kopa was crying. A mixture of anger, saddness, regret, fear, and hopelessness. All showed through the several tears that slowly trickled down his soft golden cheek.

" _...Why?..."_ Kopa choked through his tears.

" _Kopa...I...This isn't what--how I-- you weren't supposed to-"_

 _"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!"_ Kopa interupted as he shouted back. Allthough shouting had it's consequences, he winced in pain and grabbed his side.

Unsure of where to begin, Ajabu paused for a moment.

He had made alot of bad choices in his life. Too many to count, as a matter of fact. All he wanted, no... all he needed was a chance go right his wrongs. Not to selfishly make him self feel better. But because he felt as if he owed a great debt to the world. He had presumed Kopa to be dead, and ever since that day he carried him to that jungle, he has also carried around a boulder's worth of guilt on his shoulders. Maybe, just maybe...This was his one opportunity. His one opportunity to fix his mistakes.

" _Kopa...I am sorry. I am sorry that I took you away from Priderock, that I abandoned you as a cub in a Jungle, that I left you to fend for yourself on this miserable continent...I am sorry that I took everything away from you..."_ Began Ajabu.

Ajabu was begging to choke aswell, as he too was getting teary eyed.

Kopa looked up at him angrily. With wet eyes and tear stained cheeks, He was unsure if wanted to ignore the lion or fire back at him. Kopa let Ajabu continue.

" _...And I'm not here for you to accept my apology, nor do I deserve your forgiveness. I have lived with the guilt of ruining your life for months now, and I need to do what is right. Please, Kopa...let me help you."_ he finished.

" _What do you want."_ Kopa said through his teeth.

Ajabu let out a sigh, looked off into the distance, then looked back at Kopa.

 _"I can get you back to Pride Rock."_ Ajabu offered.


	16. Bring Life to The Fire

**_Bring Life To The Fire_**

Everything froze.

A peaceful and calming feeling encompassed the land, making even the tiniest of animals stop there lives, and it felt as if they were the only two souls on the face of the planet. Time seemed to come to a slow halt as the winds died down and the grass stopped moving. He had found the answer he had so longed for.

 _"You...You know how to get me back to Pride Rock?_ " Kopa asked.

Ajabu paused and looked into Kopa's vibrant green eyes.

 _"Yes"_

The teen was in a state of both relief and disbelief. One the one hand he had finally found a way to get back home but on the other...it would be with the same lion that took him away. How can you trust someone like that?

How does one do that? Put all their trust into the one animal that ruined your life in the first place. You would have to be desperate.

But then again...Kopa was desperate.

On the brightside, he knew for a fact that Ajabu knew where the Pridelands are. He was there when he took Kopa. All that remains now is whether or not Kopa trusts Ajabu to get him there.

 _"Kopa, I need you to know something."_ began Ajabu. _"I didn't help Zira just for the fun of it. As a matter of fact, I was very close to backing out of her plan. The only thing that kept me going was th-"_

 _"Wait_." Kopa interrupted. Ajabu promptly paused and waited. _"Why did you listen to Zira? Why would you ever listen to that...liar."_

Ajabu let out a sigh.

"... _That's what I was getting too."_ Ajabu sat down next to the teen.

 _"Kopa, I have been alone my whole life. Not only am I an orphan, but I never even knew my parents. The only animals that were willing to take care of me were the same ones that gave up on me within two weeks, although I was quite the rough child to raise. I was about your age when I finally decided to just live on my own. No one or nothing to worry about. Just me, myself, and I. And life was going great until..."_ he paused as he looked at the ground.

 _"Until you finally decided you felt lonely? That you too wanted someone to call family?"_ Kopa asked.

He grunted as he stood up. The pain in his body (mostly his side) was immense. But he persisted and sat next to Ajabu.

 _"Yea..."_ finished the elder of the lions. _"And then one day I ran into a jackal and lioness. They were so nice and friendly to me that it was apparent they wanted me to be their friend. I was so overjoyed that I blindly followed them, not thinking of the trouble it would get me in."_

He paused, before continuing.

 _"The Jackal-"_

 _"Hila?"_ Kopa interrupted.

 _"Uh, right. Hila told me that there was a Pride of lions willing to accept new pride members. But only if they were a lioness. If a male like me wanted to join the Pride, I would have had to do something to earn the king's respect or gratitude. That's when I got talking with Zira."_

Kopa looked up at the elder. His eyes were softer and more sincere this time, rather than the cold and ungrateful look he kept giving Ajabu earlier.

He was beginning to understand.

 _"Zira said that her pride didn't trust her anymore. Said she fell for the wrong lion, and ended up betraying her friends and family. She felt hurt, and alone. All she wanted was a chance to prove herself again. Then she explained her plan to me, and asked if I was willing to help."_ he stated.

 _"And you accepted?"_ asked Kopa. Not out of disgust as he was no longer mad, rather more for clarification.

Ajabu sighed again. _"Not at first, no. I knew it was wrong and to do that to a cub and his family. But she managed to convince the other side of me. The side that was scared and alone, the side that wanted a chance to become part of a pride...To start a family. So I accepted."_

The two sat in silence for a moment. Kopa processing this newly found information and Ajabu unsure of whether or not to continue.

" _So what happened? Obviously the plan didn't work or else you would be staying at Pride Rock right now. Did you get caught? Or was the guilt too much?"_ Kopa asked.

Ajabu began to choke.

" _Both_."

He stopped, regained his composure, and continued.

 _"But I also noticed a flaw in Zira's plan. She never said what would have happened when you woke back up after I knocked you out. You obviously would have recognized me as the one who attacked you and would have told your father. And I didn't trust Zira all that much either, I had a feeling she would have snitched me out and said I was solely responsible for the attack. She was going to take all the credit, and leave me out to dry."_

The last sentenced was laced with anger and hate. The sudden rising of old memories seemed to really strike a nerve for poor Ajabu.

" _Unfortunately I noticed this all too late. It wasn't until I carried you away from the Pridelands that I began to catch on. So instead of taking you to where she wanted you, I took you to the Oasis Jungle."_

Kopa looked back down to the ground and remembered that day. After all he had been through, that still remained as the scariest day of his life.

" _And then I ran away_." Kopa finished.

He looked back up at Ajabu as he only nodded in silence.

" _I tired to talk to you but...I had scared you too much and you...you ran away...Kopa I ruined your life, and I will never be able to forgive myself for that_."

Ajabu hung his head.

With all the facts laid out before him, Kopa couldn't help but think to himself. Everything that Ajabu had said, it sounded as if he had heard it all before. But trying to decipher what he couldn't quite remember proved to be most difficult. It was as if he were putting together a puzzle. Except...he was still missing a few of the pieces.

The lost boy...

No one around to call family...

Trying to find a home...his home...

Kopa stopped instantly.

It was all beginning to click. The sudden notion of a familiar story moved through his mind like a boulder rolling over the hills of the lush green savannah, leaving behind large craters in its path. But the destruction of the boulder wasn't a bad thing at all, no. It was almost as if the boulder had cleared the path of debris, leading to something important inside Kopa's mind. Something that he desperately needed to get out.

Then, while his thoughts still ran wild like a herd of wildebeest, he realized what he needed to. The final pieces of the puzzle. They all just seemed to fall into place, making the bigger picture much clearer to see.

Ajabu.

He was just like Kopa.

Lost, alone, and scared, yet also remaining strong, smart and confident. Willing to do whatever it takes to find his way home.

Well, in Ajabu's case, it was a matter of finding a place to call home.

With all this new information, Ajabu's appearance soon changed for the young lion. Where a cold, cruel, and ruthless lion once was, now stood a gentle, lonely lion willing to do anything to atone for his past " _sins_ ". Kopa's long felt anger and hate was soon reshaped into a sort of love and understanding.

The pair were much alike, with a similar goal in mind. Yes they were the sole cause for each others distraught and frustrations, but maybe, just maybe...They could help eachother out. Perhaps find a common ground.

Kopa was first to speak.

" _I forgive you._ "

Plain and simple. No beating around the bush. He was straight to the point.

Ajabu shot up and quickly turned his head to look at Kopa. The two held each other's gaze for the conversation continued.

" _Kopa...are you being serious? You really do forgive me? After everything I did to you? Why would you ever want to forgive a-a- monster like me?"_

" _Well, you did just save me from being drowned by Janja_ " he began, allowing for a quick moment of peace before continuing _"But you also helped me find clarity, Ajabu."_

Once again, the older of the lions cocked his head in confusion.

" _Ever since I've been on my own, I've become stronger."_ he began.

" _Not just physically, but mentally too. I've pushed myself to limits I'd never even think of going to if I would have just stayed at Priderock. And it's made me a better person...but-"_

"- _But that's not the reason why you chose to forgive me. Is it?_ " interrupted Ajabu.

Now it was his turn to feel guilt and sorrow. Like Ajabu had done before, Kopa hung is head and let out a sigh of pain, guilt and remorse.

" _While I was in the Grasslands I...I too did somethings that...I'm not very proud of. I regret these decisions so very much. It...they eat away at me constantly and it feels like- like..."_ He stopped, unable to find the words to continue

 ** _"-Like life isn't worth living"_** they said at the same time.

Their perfectly timed words were matched with a look of surprise as they looked at each other. Each lion seeing a brand new animal standing before them. Instantly, all emotions had been thrown out.

No hate.

No sorrow.

No frustration.

And no guilt.

Just and understanding for each other.

The two shared a bond that no one else, not a single soul in all of Africa had even come close to what they had. All the rough memories shaped the both of them, for better and for worse. But they one thing for sure.

If they had never met, their life would be a whole lot easier. But that is what made their bond even more special. Life isn't easy, and the fact that they made each other's life a bit harder isn't necessarily a bad thing either. As a matter of fact, one could say that it has toughened them and prepared them. Wich in the end, they are both thankful for.

And now they are given a second chance. To go home. To not have to worry about being alone.

Silence permeated the land as the pair waited for someone to speak first.

" _How fast can you get us to the Pridelands?_ " came Kopa's voice.

Thinking for a moment, Ajabu replied.

" _Four days, tops. But judging by your wound,_ " he looked at the large gash on Kopa's side " _It could take us six."_

Kopa looked down and thought over his options. Although it wasn't bad news, he wasn't too keen on having to travel six days while injured just to get back home.

' _Better play it safe'_ he thought.

He would stay with Ajabu and rest up, until his wound had healed and so he could get home as fast as possible.

He told the older lion what he was thinking. Ajabu agreed, thinking it would be smart for Kopa to wait until he was fully healed. Until then, they would stay at this cave and wait.

By now, it was nearly dusk, and the two were ready to turn in for the night. Before entering the cave, Kopa spoke.

" _Oh, one more thing Ajabu. When we get to the Pridelands, I want you to stay there with me_."

Ajabu looked at him in shock.

Kopa only smiled.

" _Everyone deserves a home_." he said.

Ajabu smiled back, as the two finally turned in for the night.

In a few days, the pair would finally earn what they so longed for.

Finally, they could go home.

_

Author's note*

1) First and foremost, I would like to apologize for such long absence.

With things like sports, work, and some things I needed to set up for school, I have been extremely busy for the past two months. But those aren't the only reasons.

I believe I had just experienced my first case of writer's block. I felt as if my story was becoming stale and I was running out of ideas. Furthermore, I was running out of motivation. Trying to find a reason to write this story was becoming increasingly harder. It wasn't until recently that I realized I wanted to keep writing. But now that I have come over that, I would officially like to announce that I am back, and plan to release another new chapter to both of my stories by Saturday. Thank you all for your patience!

2) I would like to address the person who goes by the alias: Yo Never Guess. Firstly, rude and hateful comments will not be tolerated on my page AT ALL. It's one thing to criticize a story, but it's out right unacceptable to call someone retarded and asking them to quit writing. Secondly, if your going to leave a hateful comment, at least make sure it isn't littered with several grammatical errors, okay? It makes you seem like an eight year old. Thirdly, if your going to leave mean comments, don't do it under a guest account. At least have the balls to say it to my face or under a real account.

3) I would like to thank all of you again! You guys are awesome for still loving and staying tuned with my story. The feedback is great too, please keep it coming! If you have an idea for any of my stories, feel free to leave it in a comment or just PM me!

Thanks a ton you guys!

-With love,

Ultimatum44


	17. Hope Restored

**_Hope Restored_**

This was one of the longest weeks of Kopa's life...and yet, nothing had happened. Then again, the more he thought about it, that was exactly the reason why.

He had done literally nothing. For seven whole days. No hunting, No swimming, No nothing. All he did was sit in a cave. And unless Ajabu was present, there was no one else to talk to. Well, he did make friends with a lovely bird couple, but they became quickly annoying with there constant arguing. Kopa did his best to steer clear of them and began to rarely leave the cave.

'Why am I still here?' he groaned inside his head.

He looked down at his side. The large gash had finally healed over and left a very faint and subtle scar that was well camouflaged by his shiny golden fur. It felt much better than it did a week ago, but Ajabu refused to let Kopa leave until he finished his "healing process", as to not risk any chances of reopening the wound.

'Oh. Right.'

He sighed as his head hit the floor and his droopy eyes stayed fixed on his paws. He continually unsheathed his claws, the sudden sound of a snikt seemingly the only thing that brought him amusement.

But he stopped, as the sudden noise of something scurrying across the cave floors caught his attention. He looked behind himself to find nothing, until he returned his gaze to his paws.

There at his feet stood a small, gray field mouse who looked up at the large golden lion with an expression of curiosity.

Kopa couldn't help but smile. When he was a kid back at home, he would chase mice around Pride Rock until he found something better to do, or until he simply tired himself out.

"Aww, hey there little fella. What brings you to my cave?" he said as he observed the mouse with a zelous expression.

Although it occurred to him that he might actually be in the mouse's cave, as he had only been here for a little over a week now. Whatever the matter, he really didn't care. He had finally found some sort of entertainment.

That was until-

 ** _Thud!_**

He jumped and watched as his 'little friend' scurried back into a small burrow inside the cave. He frowned as he whipped his head around to the entrance of the cave.

To his delight, his frown was quickly turned upside down.

There stood Ajabu. He had just returned from hunting.

'Finally, I have someone to talk to now.' Kopa said to himself.

He looked down at what Ajabu had dropped, the thing that scared his little friend away.

Kopa's jaw hit the floor, as he was amazed at what Ajabu managed to pick up and bring back.

It was a whole bufalo. It wasn't small, nor was it very large. It was just the right size to accommodate two male lions. Kopa was thrilled. The entire time he lived at Pride Rock, the lioness who lead the hunting party only managed to bring back bufalo a handful of times. And that was when they hunted as a group.

Yet Ajabu had seemingly brought back a decent sized buffalo single handedly. The thought of that left Kopa awestruck.

"Well, are you just gonna sit there and look at it all day, or are you gonna come and eat?" Ajabu said.

Kopa looked back up at him.

"And close your mouth. I can smell your breath all the way over here!" Ajabu laughed and waved his paw in front of his nose as he teased Kopa.

Kopa smirked at this remark, and ran over to Ajbu with is mouth wide open, and breathing heavily.

"Oh you say my breath stinks, now don't you?"

He lunged at Ajabu who promptly ducked. Kopa was sent over the top of Ajabu, and landed on his stomach. A loud "oof" sounded when Kopa had landed on his stomach. He rolled over onto his back and looked up.

Ajabu loomed over at Kopa, and laughed at his foolishness.

"Come on, it's time to eat."

The two got up and joyfully walked over to their lunch.

"How, in all of Africa, did you manage to catch a buffalo?"

"Are you calling me a bad hunter?" Ajabu responded with sarcasm.

The two laughed once more

"Haha, no that's not what I meant. What I meant was, how did you manage to catch a buffalo all by yourself? Back at home, the lioness rarely ever caught something as big as this." Kopa looked back down at the beast.

The two began to dig in their meal, both talking with mouthfuls of meat, making there speach very incomprehendable, yet at the same time the two could still understand each other.

"The trick is, let the prey hunt themselves"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Kopa said with his mouth stuffed

The two swallowed their food and let out a sigh of gratefulness. "Ahhh." The said at the same time, as their food hit their stomachs.

"It means you have to patient, while also remaining persistent. Let the prey tire themselves out until they can not continue anymore. Let them think they are safe. And finally, let them fall to sleep. And even then, you don't strike. Not until they too tired to wake up."

Kopa looked at him a bit disturbed, but he remembered that he too had done somethings that he still isn't entirely proud of.

Ajabu noticed this, and was quick to explain his methods.

"You look a bit worried. That's entirely understandable."

"No no no" he stuttered, not wanting to upset Ajabu "It's just... a different method I guess."

"That too is also understandable. I just find it...barbaric...to chase an animal to the point of death. They know what's coming, and a lot of times their too outnumbered to do anything about it."

"But you still chase them? Your giving them a false sense of security. That seems more barbic then just hunting them normally" Kopa asked.

He wasn't mad or confused with Ajabu, he was just searching for clarification.

"Yes, that is true. But I'm not trying to give them a false sense of hope. I need to make sure they are tired enough to fall into a deep sleep, one that they won't wake easily from. It's just that this way, they go out peacefully. They don't even know what happened...Not until they've passed."

Ajabu looked up at the sky and smiled. Kopa looked over at him and observed. Ajabu whispered 'thank you' to the sky. Kopa couldn't help but ask. A question that would keep many up at night.

A question would forever stand the test of time.

"Ajabu?" he started. He was starting to get nervous. He didn't really like talking about his beliefs with others, especially someone that he didn't know as well. "Do you believe in an afterlife?" his voice becoming quieter and more serious.

Ajabu looked down at the young teenager, the question had clearly caught him off guard.

"Oh, well uh...uh Yes, I do. I do believe there's more for us after death, and I do believe their is a higher power at work in our existence, but who or what that is...I'm afraid might forever remain a mystery. What about you?"

Kopa looked at the ground nervously as he bit the corners of his lips.

"I...um..I'm not so sure anymore. When I was a kid, I had no doubt about it. I used to believe that all living things had a purpose after they passed. My father used to tell us stories about how he saw his father, my grandfather, up in the stars when he was lost. He said my grandfather gave him a message - that he needed to return home."

Ajabu looked at Kopa. He had an idea of what Kopa was getting at, but he waited for further evidence to present itself before he decided to jump in. Kopa explained what happened when his was lost, and what Simba had told him while they would go out on Kopa's royal duties training.

Kopa began once more.

"My father says that all the great kings and queens of the past, live up there. He says that all good creatures have their own special spot already reserved and waiting for them. He even tells me that you might even meet your soulmate up there." Kopa laughed before continuing.

His laughter quickly subsided as he ready himself to continue.

"But, he also says that there is a place for the bad creatures too." he paused, letting the weight of his claim further sink in. "He says that bad animals don't get to go live up in the stars with the good creatures. My dad tells me that they lie in a dark place, all by themselves for eternity. To forever live out their days in darkness and sorrow. Dad tells me that my great uncle is there."

"But you don't believe him, do you?" Ajabu interrupted "Why is that?"

Kopa was clearly distraught as he continued. Something in his head was telling him that he wasn't worth anything.

"Ajabu...I'm not a good creature. You know I've done bad things to good animals. Things that they didn't deserve. It made me think I was going to the bad place, and it terrified me."

"So you just stopped believing?" Ajabu asked

"I try and tell myself that there is no such thing as a good or bad place, that there is no such thing as an afterlife, and there is nothing after death." Kopa continued. "But it doesn't work. It only makes the fear worse."

"Kopa, are you Okay? I'm here if you need someone to talk to."

"I'm sorry Ajabu, I didn't mean to ruin our lunch like this. Just...let's forget about it okay?"

Taking a bit of time to digest what he had just heard, Ajabu began formulating his response.

"Look kid, if there's any pieces of advice I can give you, they would be, one: Everyone deserves a second chance, because at one point or another, everyone is going to make a mistake in their life. Your the one who taught me that." he said

"My second piece of advice is: Don't let the past affect your beliefs. Life is going to throw you around and find ways to use you. Stay strong to what you believe Kopa." he smiled.

"And Kopa, I still think there is a spot for us in the good place. We just have to prove it now."

Kopa too felt reassured. He smiled back at his mentor, feeling much better now. He lunged out and gave Ajabu a hug.

At first Ajabu was surprised by Kopa's actions. but he too returned the favor by hugging him back. The two finally parted.

"Thank you Ajabu."

"No problem Kid." he returned. "I never did tell you why I brought back a bufalo, did I?" he asked.

"No, why?" Kopa asked.

"Well," Ajabu leaned over and looked at Kopa's side, as it had healed one hundred percent. "I think we should head back to Pride Rock tonight, but we need to stock up on food as much as we can before we head out, I don't know how soon our next meal will be." he smiled.

Kopa's face lit up brighter than the sun, and he began to run in circles around the outside of the cave, and shout as he heard the news.

Finally, after all this time, he would go back the place he so loved the most.

"Home, here I come!" shout Kopa

_

 **Authors note**

This chapter was a rough one. It went through several re-writes before I finally decided it was just right. Also I wanted to ask you guys something.

In this chapter I decided to stop putting quotes in Italics. Is that something you guys would like, or do you feel as if it feels too different? Please let me know! You guys rock!

Remember to stay tuned!


	18. Long at last

7 days of traveling.

The loose dry dirt stuck to the bottom of Kopa's paws, his golden fur was matted and dirty, and his eyes squinted as he tried his best to block the hot sun from hitting his already very dry eyes. Kopa looked up at Ajabu to find that he wasn't phased at all by the heat, nor the fact that the pair hadn't starved to death. It had been at least two days since their last meal. The pair came across a small watering hole were they stopped to take a drink. Kopa let Ajabu walk up to the water first to take a drink, while Kopa sat back and kept a watchful eye. Over the course their relationship, the pair had developed a sort of trust and understanding. They took shifts watching each other's backs while the other rested or ate. From their they established a golden rule. One to watch, one to prey. After all, two minds is always better than one in the African Savanah.

That's another thing Kopa learned while on his own. And that's the fact that intelligence will always beat strength and speed. If you can toy with the mind of your opponent than you've already won half the battle. The rest comes with the kill. And the one who taught him was a sly and manipulative jackal named Hila.

Kopa still had nightmares about the day he was forced to kill Hila. The whole fight was wrong, morally and physically. But something about the way Hila died felt...off in a way. Like there was still some shred of life left in eyes taunting and teasing Kopa when he left. ' _You really thought you won, didn't you. You really thought you could bet me? Just wait.'_ said the eyes of the deceased Jackal. Kopa shook his head and moved on.

He walked up to the water and dipped his mouth inside. He felt refreshed as the cool clear liquid trickled its way down his throat, leaving behind strand of liquid running from his mouth connecting to the water. Looking down at his reflection Kopa could see that even more of his mane was coming in. So far just down the back of his neck and it appeared he also had some redish-brown hair on the sides of his cheeks and face. He smiled, and dipped the rest of his body inside and washed the dirt off his matted fur. Once he resurfaced and dried off, it was clear to see the difference from the once dirty teenager to a now clean and well groomed young man. He sat down

Ajabu has sat down under neath a tree and rested his legs for a bit. With all things considered, an hour of rest would be much needed at this point.

Kopa too sat down and rested his eyes for bit. But, it wasn't long till he felt something run across his paw.

He looked down and saw a small white field mouse stop at the base of his paw. It looked up at him with curious and thoughtful eyes, a sight that was truly rare to see in the wild.

"Well aren't you a brave little guy. Say, you'd make a pretty good snack now that I think about it." he looked down at the mouse.

But he then remeberd about the animal he used to be. Nice, caring, and loving. He would never harm any creature on the entire continent. Until he ran into a pair of rabbits and a jackal. Then he changed. But through his mistakes came clarity. He now knows that he can be better than that...monster he was. He WANTED to be better. He wanted to help others, but he knew one day he would have to pay for his crimes. Maybe...maybe he didn't deserve to go home.

He watched the small mouse scurry off and looked out at the horizon. He looked deep into the heat waves and mirage lines out in the distance of the flat earth. Something caught his eye. He got up and walked just a tad closer, watching the mirage wave fade away. In the east he saw I very large and grey sharp object.A very familiar object. It kind of looked like...

"Is that," Kopa paused.

The realization hit him like an angry stampeding rhino.

He gasped with excitement. Pushing his way through the water and grass, Kopa ran over to Ajabu and pushed on his side until the adult lion woke up.

"Ajabu! Ajabu! Wake up!"

Disgruntled and a tad irritated, the adult lion was slow to get up. Did Kopa not see that he was very tried and was trying to forget the fact that he watched Kopa let a perfectly good snack run away like that.

"Kopa enough, I'm trying to rest. We only have about a day left till we make it to-"

He was quickly cut off by a stream of water hitting his face.

"Kopa! What is the meaning of this!" Ajabu jumped to his feet.

"Ajabu look!" Kopa pointed out to the horizon.

There upon the flat earth lay the rock of Kings and Queens. A place where the mightiest of all animals resided with their pride, and ruled with powerful and strict, yet forgiving and loving methods. A place in which Kopa found very familiar. A place in wich Kopa could call home.

"Priderock." Ajabu gasped. His eyes went wide.

The two looked at each other, and before long the pair were bolting across the savanah towards the rock.

Every single step Kopa took closer to his home he couldn't help but feel happier and happier. Every time one of his paws hit the ground, he could feel him self accelerating faster and faster. He picked up his speed. He told himself he would not stop till he made it to the very top of Priderock.

That feeling of being hit by a rhino he had earlier quickly became a very painful reality. He was knocked to the ground very painfully. He rolled around for bit beofre finally stopping on his side. Before he could get up, he found himself pinned under the full weight of a female lion.

But not just any female lion, a lioness he recognized very clearly. One of the Pridelnd's best hunters, and one of it's deadliest fighters.

Tama.

Although he recognized her very easily, it was clear she hadn't the slightest clue who he was.

"You are trespassing in lands of wich are not yours. Unless you are by official invite of the king or queen, I suggest you turn around now. As a defender of the Pridelands, I am required to warn you that you must leave now. Before the King and Queen decide your fate. " she warned.

In a wierd way, it felt reassuring to hear her voice once again. When Nala wasn't around when Kopa was a kid, he found most of his time being babysat by Tama as his parents were off doing important royalty duties.

"Tama you don't recognize me? I-It, it's me, it's-"

A loud roar sent Tama off of Kopa. Ajabu stood close ready to fight the lioness in front of him. He and Tama stood face to face, teeth barred and ready to pounce. To Ajabu's dismay, the two were quickly surrounded by four more lioness. More of the Pridelands finest defenders . Ajabu backed up about two feet. It was clear that he was smart enough to recognize when he was outnumbered. But we wasn't just going to leave Kopa alone. Not after everything they've been through together.

Kopa stood up and rushed over to Ajabu's side.

"Wait, please everyone calm down, we don't mean any harm." He looked at the lead lioness in front of him. His emerald eyes met with her olive green eyes. "Tama it's me. It's Kopa."

Tama took a step back

"Impossible!" she shouted. "The King and Queen's son is dead. He has been for months."

Kopa took a step forward, only to be met with a growl form the four lioness in front of him. Yet, the former Pridelander did not back down.

"Tama please, I know you're confused and I know you don't trust someone you think you don't know. But it's me, I swear, I can prove it. I-I just need to talk to my family first."

Before any one else could continue, the party was met with three other animals. A badger, a cheetah, and last but certainly not least of all... a lion cub. One with a fiery red mane that flowed backwards along with a marking of lion on his shoulder.

"Tama, What seems to be the problem?" spoke the young lion cub.

"We found these two trespassing. We're not sure why they're here, but I don't trust them. Not one bit. What should we do with them Kion?"

 _'Kion. His name is Kion.'_

Kopa's heart sank. It was his little brother. But, he wans't so little anyomre. No longer a toddler or infant, but still young enough to be a cub. He was so much older now, and he too had a head of hair. Although his was much more vibrant than his older brother's.

"Kion? Is...Is it really you?" Kopa slowly pressed forward.

The lioness continued to growl, yet Kopa pressed on.

"Kion... it's me. It's Kopa. Don't you remember me little brother?"

Kion's facial expression was quick to change. He went from ready to fight, to unable to move. Curious and struck with wonder.

"Kion! It's your call, what should we do with them?" Came the voice of the cheetah

Yet he stood there unmoved, as if he were frozen in time.

"Kion!" Tama gelled.

"Little brother, please." Kopa begged.

"Let us through!" yelled Ajabu.

"Kion, what should we do? Come on buddy snap out of it." Said the badger

All the commotion, all that was happening, all of the feelings. It was all to much for Kion at the moment. A part of him felt relieved and joyous to see his brother, yet the other half of them felt distrust and anger. If this lion was an imposter than playing with Kion's emotions was absolutely heartbreaking. A true sin of the grossest kind. But deep down inside, Kion needed closure. He needed to know if this lion was who he says he is. Not just for him, but for his family too.

He unleashed a mighty roar. A roar just powerful enough to shake the ground and blow the leaves off the nearby trees. Everyone fell silent. For Kopa and Ajabu, shock and disbelief was a very prominent emotion. How could a lion cub this small make such a powerful sound?

"Enough!" He yelled.

Both sides stood frozen, stricken with nervousness. Kion walked up to his 'older brother' with a serious face. Not a mean face, but one that said "I trust you, but don't you dare try anything."

"Kopa? Is it really you?" He asked with a strong yet uncertain voice.

Kopa's heart sank.

"You believe me? Oh yes little brother! Yes it is! It's me!" You've gotten so big little brother." he smiled.

Kion ran up to his brother and squeezed him tight, embracing him in a long and warm hug. He two seemed to let his emotions get the better of him. The pair just sat there embracing each other for waht felt like forever. No one knew what to say in the precious moment. They all stood quietly and waited to see what would happen next.

"I- ...We, missed you so much Kopa. We all thought you were dead." He cried into his brothers chest.

"Your majesty," came Tama's voice, she bowed. "With all due respect, how do we know this is the real Kopa? I want him to be the real deal too Kion, I really do. But how do we know?"

All thre groups stood there and watched the young lion cub, as he formulated a plan.

"Tama, let him go. He is to follow me to Priderock. The rest of you stay here."

The cheetah spoke again "Kion, what if he decided to attack you? Don't you want at least one of us to come?"

Kion was quick to turn around. "I can defend myself just fine." He snapped. "What we don't know, is wether or not this other rouge has any other plans, or friends waiting to ambush. You all stay here and defend the borders just incase. I trust Kopa, but him," he looked at Ajabu," I do not."

He looked up at his older brother. "Follow me."

With confusion, the rest of the groups stay put still unsure of what do.

~0~

Kion and Kopa walked around before shortly nearing the base of Priderock.

Neither one spoke a word. Kopa suspected something was wrong. He expected at least some communication, if not that, at least some acknowledgement.

"Where did you go?"

Kopa snapped back to reality. "I'm sorry Kion, I don't think I heard you. What did you say?"

Kion stopped walking, and turned to face his brother.

"I asked where you went." Kion repeated, tone still very serious.

"Oh well, I-uh, I didn't go anywhere, more like I was taken, but I ended up in a place called the Grasslands. But I'm just glad to be home now, wish I could have come back sooner though." He answered smiling at his brother, desperately trying to win his approval.

"Then why didn't you?"

Kopa felt Kions harsh words hit him like Tama had done so earlier. His smile disappeared and a mix of worry and distress lay plastered on his face.

"Uhm well, I wasn't allowed to leave, for a while at least. I was forced to complete tasks by the animals of the Grasslands. Even then, I wasn't sure where I was or how far away I was from home."

Nothing but awkward silence. Kion turned around and began moving up the steps of Priderock. He looked back at his older brother and motioned to follow. Kopa began his steps back up the massive stone.

It wasn't long till the reached the top of Priderock. It was exactly the way he remembered it. Not even a single people or speck of dust seemed out of place.

The view was impeccable. The savanah looked beautiful in the early afternoon. Everything was visible and every creature was seen enjoying their lives.

"Where's mom and dad?" Kopa asked

"The King and Queen are our taking care of royal business. One of the lioness should have been sent to retrieve them. They will be here shortly." Kion put.

Kion was quick to correct him. It was obvious he still wasn't quite sure if Kopa was who he said we was. He knew he was taking a risk, even bringing a "stranger" to the top of Priderock would undoubtedly have unforeseen consequences.

"Oh, Of-Ofcourse." Kopa bowed his head.

Kion plopped him self down and stared directly into Kopa's eyes. The clash of royal red and emerald green orbs staring into each others soles was...mesmerizing.

"Your tasks. Did you complete them?"

Kopa looked at his brother with a puzzled looked.

"You're referring to my task at the Grasslands, correct?"

"Yes, those ones. Were they hard?"

Kopa looked down at the ground defeated.

"Yes. All of them were very difficult. But...I think they really helped me grow. I have learned a lot about myself little brother."

Kions serious face faltered for just a second, and for a moment he looked up at Kopa with nothing but hope for the lion who claimed to be his brother. Deep down, Kion really wanted him to be the real deal. HIS brother Kopa.

But their time was cut rather shortly. A loud thunderous roar silenced the all of the land around them. The roar of a king.

Kopas eyes went wide. It was his father and mother standing behind him. King Simba, and Queen Nala

As excited as he was, Kopa was unsure of what to do. Frozen with nervousness, Kopa could not move. What were his parents thinking.

Kion got up and walked past his brother. He began whispering to his father and mother. Quiet traces of what sounded like arguing could be heard for at least five minutes. All the while the king and queen kept their eyes on the stranger in front of them. All of the sudden however, they all looked back at him with curious eyes.

King Simba began to slowly approach his "oldest son". He sat down and looked into his eyes. He needed to make sure this was his son.

But then, the Kings eyes went wide.

"Kopa?" He asked.

Kopa began to nod his head. He was still unsure of wether or not he should speak still.

The king embraced his son in a tight and warm hug. A bit shocked at first, Kopa didn't move. But after a second or two, he returned the favor by squeezing just as tight.

"I missed you guys so much." Kopa cried. Today turned out to be more emotional then he had planned for, but in his eyes it was all worth it.

"Kopa, son. I- we thought you were dead. All of the Pridelands suffered from your disappearance, but we, our family, suffered the worst. Son we love you so much. Where were you all this time?" He once again pulled his son tighter before looking back into his eyes.

Kopa laughed and brushed the tears from his eyes. "Lost. I was lost for too long. But I'm finally home."

"We're so happy to finally have you back son. And by the great kings above, look st how big you've grown!" Simba laughed.

Kion finally felt the reassurance he had so longed for and ran up to his older brother and hugged him tightly. The two brothers began wrestling around and playing just like they used too. Both preforming moves that only they would remember.

"Say, I haven't seen Kiara around yet, where is she at?" Kopa asked while pinning his little brother down. He laughed as he watched his brother squirm and squeal to get free from the impending "tickle monster".

"She is out with her friends near the hotsprings. Uncle Timon and Pumba should be taking care of her. At least I sure hope so." The king laughed. "Say Nala, why don't you say we go get Kiara and bring her back to see-"

But the king was cut off by the expression of his wife. She had tears rolling down her cheeks, and she still hadn't moved from her spot on top of Priderock. The male lions all suspected something was wrong.

"Nala, what is wrong?" Simba asked. But before he could get too close to her, the queen had already turned around and ran down the side of the large rock.

"Kion, take your brother back inside the den. I will go talk your mother. Something is very wrong with her, I need to figure out what it is."

Just like that, the King had left just as quickly as his wife did. The once loving moment had already become serious once again. Kopa found himself following his little brother back to his original sleeping place. The inside of his home.

He lay down and waited for the return of his father and mother.

Perhaps things weren't as good as he remembered. Maybe Ajabu was having better luck st the border. But what could have happened to his mother while he was gone?

Kopa was unsure of what it could be. With that, he remained seated waiting for what was to come.

_000000_

We are back!!

After careful consideration, and advice from you fans of course, the re-write of this story has been cancelled, and my original Idea now remains intact!!

I am proud to announce that "Some Princes Dont Become Kings" has now been renewed and reaproved and new chapters will be out within the following weeks!

Thank you for your long awaited patience and appreciation for my craft. Remember to PM with any ideas you have and keep sending reviews please!

Remember to stay tuned!!

Sincerely,

Ultimatum44


End file.
